SCHOOLS SHOULD STICK TO WHAT THEY DO BEST AND LEAVE DRUG TESTS TO POLICE

Children in the Charlotte County school system will be tested randomly for
drugs and alcohol, the School Board announced this week. Not right away, but
maybe starting the next school year or soon afterward.

The same day this news appeared in the Herald-Tribune, another story
reported the problems 10th-graders have had with the state reading test.
Many of them, too many of them, can't pass it.

The juxtaposition of the two stories begs the question: How do we want our
public school district to expend its limited resources? Do we want our
educators to teach our children to read, write and develop critical
thinking, or do we want them to probe their bodies for drugs?

If I suspected my children were drinking, smoking pot or popping pills, and
if I thought they wouldn't level with me, I'd subject them at home to a drug
test, which anyone can buy at any pharmacy. I would not appreciate an
outsider, be it the church, the school or a neighbor down the street,
sticking their well-meaning noses into my family's business.

A friend suggested the call for random drug testing makes a great civics
lesson for students. They can experience firsthand how politicians succumb
to the hysteria of the moment, in this case reacting to a survey two years
ago that showed student drug use in Charlotte County as the most prevalent
in the state.

Good point, although School Board members deserve some credit on this
subject. At least they've approached it in a measured way, gathering
opinions over several years from students, teachers, administrators, parents
and anyone who would like to chip in.

However, the public is not calling for this. Support has germinated from
within, and the policy bodes little but trouble.

The methodology alone is a giant red flag. Nothing has been decided, but
board members are leaning toward "random" testing only of those who are in
extracurricular activities or drive to school. In other words, the testing
won't be random. It will be aimed at a certain group of students,
representing about 40 percent of the high school population.

Apparently, the Supreme Court has granted permission to selectively test
this segment of the student body because driving and extracurricular
activities are voluntary, not compulsory, as school attendance is. That
approach is out of whack from the start.

Studies have shown that students who participate in sports, theater and
clubs are less likely to drink, take drugs and fall in harm's way.

If we accept the School Board members' contention that their aim is to
identify drug users so they can help, not punish, them, then their outreach
is directed at the wrong target and ignores the population most likely to
need the help.

We don't want our children to abuse drugs or alcohol, and it's tempting to
use this method as a tool to achieve our wishes. We should resist that
temptation, especially within the public school system.

If the classroom is to be the venue for solving society's problems, then it
should do so by educating, not by employing techniques more commonly
associated with law enforcement. We wouldn't want our schools to administer
random tests to identify sexual activity. Nor would we want them to conduct
random lie detector tests in an effort to solve a case of breaking and
entering or vandalism. Drug testing is no different.

The Charlotte County school district has already adjusted its curriculum to
put more emphasis on the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. That's a
sensible approach in line with its mission. Spending money to chase after
drug users isn't.

Save the money. Hire another reading teacher.