CONGRESS SHOULD DENY FUNDING FOR SCHOOL DRUG TESTS

Bush Wants $23 Million to Test Students for Drug Use Before They Can
Join After-School Activities

Congress should quickly kill President George W. Bush's proposal to
spend $23 million to expand drug testing programs in high schools.

The money would go to schools that volunteer to test all students who
participate in after-school activities, such as sport teams and
academic and social clubs. Students who refuse to take the test would
be barred from participation.

Advocates, including John Walters, the administration's drug czar, say
mandatory testing is a powerful deterrent that will encourage students
to choose their extracurricular activities over drugs.

Tests have shown mixed results. Critics say the testing keeps
vulnerable students away from after-school events, the kind of
positive and uplifting activities that are most likely to keep them
away from illegal drugs.

Whether testing works as a deterrent is not the point. Mandatory
testing is a bad idea primarily because of the lessons it teaches
children about their civil liberties.

Forcing students to take drug tests before allowing them to fully
participate in school life stands on end the principles of due process
that hold together the nation's legal system. Rather than being
presumed innocent until proven guilty, the students are presumed
guilty until they prove themselves innocent.

They also are forced to submit evidence against themselves and forfeit
their privacy rights.

And this is how the good kids will be treated. Imagine what's in store
for the delinquents.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a dismal ruling, upheld the tests because
after-school sports and clubs are voluntary, and a student not wishing
to take the test could choose not to sign up for extracurricular programs.

But many things that are voluntary are also essential. Getting a
driver's license, for example. If mandatory tests are OK for students
signing up to play soccer, why not for adults applying for a driver's
license?

And if drug tests are an effective deterrent, why not use a lie
detector as well to make sure students haven't commited some other
offense?

Treating children like criminals and subjecting them to constant
monitoring may insure more perfect behavior. Or it may simply lead to
more rebellion and more children dropping out.

Either way, the mandatory tests trample on the principles of civil
liberty and teach students a poor lesson. Congress should shut off the
money for the mandatory drug tests.