DRAWING THE LINE

Alongside his State of the Union remarks about terrorism, health care and
the economy, President Bush also noted Tuesday a decline in illegal drug
use among schoolchildren.

"Drug testing in our schools has proven to be an effective part of this
effort," he said. "So tonight I proposed an additional $23 million for
schools that want to use drug testing as a tool to save children's lives.
The aim here is not to punish children, but to send them this message: We
love you, and we don't want to lose you."

Drug testing is acceptable with regard to student athletes and students
participating in extracurricular activities, such as school bands,
ensembles, academic teams and so forth. These types of students have
volunteered to represent their respective schools both on and off school
property and should be held accountable for their actions. Also, school and
law enforcement officials should continue to conduct drug searches, because
illegal drugs have no place on school property.

However, subjecting entire student bodies to drug tests would be
overreaching. Many students are obligated to attend school and should not
have to be subject to legal dragnets.

Bush is right to say the nation doesn't want to lose its children to drugs
but shouldn't lose sight of the average student's basic rights in the process.