WHY TEST KIDS FOR DRUGS IF YOU CAN'T SEE RESULTS?

To the Editor:

I have been following with great interest all the stories and articles of
all the substance abuse problems in our communities. It is interesting to
read all the pros and cons of the different schools' view of drug testing.

My issue is, the way the current law is written, once our children are 18
years old the school is not required to tell us anything about them. If the
18-year-old doesn't want us to see his report card, we can't; if he is
skipping school or failing, we will never know until we don't get a
graduation invitation.

If they are in college and we are paying thousands of dollars in tuition,
the college doesn't even have to tell us that the child isn't attending a
single class. In fact, if we call and ask, they can't talk to us. If they
go to the doctor with a broken arm for X-rays and the insurance is in our
name, the doctor can choose not to tell us that the arm is broken.

How in the world will we get drug test results from the schools and answers
from the doctors that we send these children to for help?

Another issue that I have been following with interest is over the
shortened recesses at the Peabody schools. I really got a laugh the day
that an article listed all the reasons for a shortened recess right next to
a story about the concerns about obesity in children. Go figure.

Susan McIntire

Middleton