HARM OUTWEIGHS GOOD OF TESTING STUDENTS

Forcing drug tests on students is ineffective, invasive, and can make
existing school drug problems worse.

The Walton-Verona school board recently approved a random, suspicionless
drug testing program for all student athletes. Advocates of such programs
claim that they give young people an excuse to say "no" to drugs. But
randomly testing those who participate in after-school sports simply gives
students who have used or are thinking about using drugs an excuse to say
"no" to trying out for teams.

School officials should welcome these at-risk students into the positive
atmospheres provided by team sports, especially during the crucial hours
between the end of the school day and the time their parents come home from
work. Instead, drug testing programs turn students toward the streets,
where they'll be more likely to experiment with drugs.

Yanking at-risk students out of their after-school activities and deterring
others from joining could have the unintended consequence of worsening an
existing drug problem in the student body. Indeed, the U.S. Department of
Education and Department of Justice published a report in 1998 underscoring
the importance of extracurricular involvement in crime and drug-use
reduction among adolescents. Why would school boards want to further
alienate the young people who need their help the most?

Forcing students into bathroom stalls while school officials listen for the
sounds of urination greatly damages the relationships of trust that are so
crucial in our schools. Students should feel that they can approach adults
if they have problems with drugs or are experiencing other hardships of
being teenagers. Instead, the "gotcha" attitude that is fostered by drug
testing isolates students and deters them from seeking the help and advice
they might need.

Drug testing isn't just contrary to common sense; it's not supported by
science. In 2003, researchers at the University of Michigan published the
largest national study on the subject, finding that "school drug testing
was not associated with either the prevalence or frequency of student
marijuana use, or of other illicit drug use." Numerous other surveys
support this finding, and studies to the contrary are conspicuously absent.

How much will an ineffective drug testing regimen cost local taxpayers?
Schools that adopt such programs spend an average of $42 per student
tested. In Dublin, Ohio, the cost of detecting only 11 students who tested
positive cost $35,000, or $3,200 per positive test. In a time when many
school districts are cutting programs and teacher salaries just to keep the
lights on, throwing money down the drain on drug testing is especially foolish.

Because of the ineffectiveness of drug testing, 95 percent of schools
nationwide do not randomly drug test their student athletes. Northern
Kentucky school boards should think twice before adopting drug testing
programs, which surely are not the quick fix for drug problems some say
they are.