RANDOM DRUG TESTING HAS MERIT

I was dismayed to read the Daily Press editorial "Scary thought"
(March 20) refer to nonpunitive random student drug testing as a
"specter" and to dismiss the initiative as "an awful idea."
Nonpunitive random student drug testing has definitive judicial and
legislative support and merits serious consideration by the
Williamsburg-James City School Board.

Both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Virginia General Assembly have
sanctioned such testing. In two opinions, one in 1995 and one in 2002,
the Supreme Court held that nonpunitive random student drug testing
does not constitute an unreasonable search in violation of the Fourth
Amendment. In both opinions, the court balanced the student's Fourth
Amendment rights against the school's legitimate interest in detecting
and deterring drug abuse among student athletes and students
participating in extracurricular activities, and found drug testing to
be a reasonable means to protect the safety and health of the
students. Subsequently, in 2003, the General Assembly passed a statute
authorizing local school districts to establish drug testing programs.
The Virginia Board of Education has since published guidelines for
local school districts to follow in establishing such programs. Thus,
there is strong judicial and legislative authority for the initiative.

The editorial correctly points out that just because something is
legal does not necessarily mean it is the prudent thing to do. In its
2002 opinion, the Supreme Court agreed, stating that "in upholding the
constitutionality of the policy, we express no opinion about its
wisdom." Moreover, the Supreme Court and the General Assembly
acknowledged that the decision to implement student drug testing is
one best left to local school districts who must determine the need
for such testing. In Williamsburg-James City County, a group of
concerned parents and students have collected a body of evidence
supporting the need for such testing. Their arguments to implement a
program, which is soundly endorsed by authoritative bodies, deserve an
equally thorough and conscientious review by local
authorities.

Jim Winthrop

Williamsburg