Our View

SCHOOL DRUG TESTING FACES CHALLENGE

There's a clash shaping up within the Supreme Court and between the court
and the American Civil Liberties Union over whether to allow schools to
require students involved in any extracurricular activity to undergo drug
testing. At present, the nation's highest court upholds the right of
schools to require drug testing only for student athletes.

The issue wound up in the Supreme Court thanks to a decision by the
Pottawatomie County school system in Oklahoma, which extended its drug
testing program to all students involved in interscholastic extracurricular
activities. Some students protested the decision as an invasion of their
privacy. An appeals court sided with the students, citing the differences
between student athletics and other extracurricular activities,
particularly the reasons why drug testing for athletics passed in the first
place: Lowered expectations of privacy among groups that regularly undress
and shower together, along with concerns for safety.

The decision at the Supreme Court level appears less clear-cut, however. At
present, it appears a majority of the justices are in favor of extending
drug testing to any group of students involved in extracurricular
activities, with the exception of Sandra Day O'Connor and David Souter, who
feel such a policy would involve an infringement of Fourth Amendment
protections against unreasonable searches. O'Connor expressed doubts as to
why students involved in activities such as choir should be subjected to
drug testing, calling such a policy "odd" and implying such students were
less likely to use drugs. Souter expressed misgivings about whether such a
decision might lead to drug testing of all students, regardless of whether
they were involved in extracurricular activities or not. The remaining
members of the Supreme Court, particularly Justice Antonin Scalia, appear
ready to give the green light to the testing as another way to keep drug
use in schools down.

For us, the litmus test of whether drug testing of students should be
extended to all extracurricular activities is the voluntary nature of such
activities. We are opposed to requiring blanket drug testing of all
students because that constitutes a blatant violation of the Fourth
Amendment. Unless there is probable cause or reasonable suspicion, entire
student bodies shouldn't be subject to random or targeted urinalysis.

However, if a student wishes to become involved in some extracurricular
activity, whether it's football or band, they should be prepared to answer
to a higher set of standards. Just as those of us in the real world have to
submit to drug testing for some employers, students involved in
extracurricular activities should expect an extra hurdle. Will it help keep
drug use in schools down appreciably? Probably not, but it won't hurt, either.