MICHIGAN SCHOOLS SHOULD AVOID RANDOM DRUG TESTING PLAN

President George W. Bush recently requested more money to expand
random drug testing programs in high schools. Reducing drug use,
especially by young people, is a worthy goal. But the president's
proposal is the wrong way to achieve it. Even if it gets approved,
Michigan schools would be wise to avoid it.

In the last two years, student drug testing has gained momentum in the
wake of the Supreme Court's ruling in Board of Education v. Earls. By
a 5-4 vote, the high court upheld an Oklahoma school district's policy
of testing students who take part in extracurricular activities. It
concluded that minors had less constitutional protection than adults;
drug use was so serious a problem that random testing was a legitimate
way to discourage it; and since activities are a privilege, not a
right, school officials could make testing a condition of
participating.

But it remains an open question whether schools can test an entire
student body. Random testing still might be ruled illegal in states
whose constitutions give their citizens additional privacy rights. And
even where testing is constitutional, school boards could be sued for
not following proper procedures, testing students in a demeaning
manner or disclosing results to those with no need to know.

More important, the high court did not decide whether testing is sound
policy. Many experts maintain it is not. A coalition that included the
American Public Health Association, the American Academy of
Pediatrics, and the National Association of Social Workers argued in
Earls that testing was ineffective and counterproductive.

To begin with, programs like that in Earls target the wrong students.
Those who take part in activities are less likely to use drugs. In
fact, testing might cause some students to drop out of activities,
putting themselves at even greater risk of using drugs.

Testing also infringes parents' rights to bring up their children and
involves the government in intimate family decisions. The programs
envisioned by the president have a benign objective: to identify
students with drug problems and prod them into getting help. But they
allow schools to force students to reveal their medical history and
even undergo treatment, over their parents' wishes.

There is reason to be concerned. For years, school officials have been
accused of pressuring parents to put their children on drugs like
Ritalin. Furthermore, drug testing is big business: equipment makers
and drug counselors are among those who stand to gain from the
widespread adoption of testing programs.

Nor is testing an efficient way of identifying students with drug
problems. Widely used tests are better at finding some drugs than
others: marijuana, which stays in the body for days after use, is most
often detected; while drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine, which
leave the body more quickly, are less likely to be found.

Testing might even encourage students to switch from marijuana to
harder-to-find, but more dangerous, substances. And most tests fail to
detect the two drugs most often used by students: alcohol, which is a
factor in thousands of traffic deaths a year; and nicotine, which is
not only addictive but has been linked to later use of harder drugs.

Finally, schools that test are teaching a bad lesson in civics.
Testing forces students to prove their innocence of a crime they are
not even suspected of committing; and presuming guilt is contrary to
basic, long-held American beliefs. Testing also tramples students'
privacy and dignity, and creates an atmosphere of distrust that
discourages them from getting help from teachers and coaches.

Given testing's shortcomings, many experts recommend that the money be
spent instead on education and prevention programs. There are even
indications that testing does little to discourage drug use. A study
conducted by University of Michigan researchers, and reported last
year in the Journal of School Health, found no difference in the rate
of drug use between students who faced random testing and those who
did not.

In an effort to persuade school districts, the Bush administration has
sent the nation's drug czar, John Walters, on a field trip to make the
case for testing. But Walters' case is flawed: It exaggerates the
benefits and downplays the costs of testing. Which is why parents and
school officials need to do their homework.