FREE TO TEST

Random Drug tests for Tecumseh High School students involved in
extracurricular activities will begin again this fall, more than a year
after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the testing policy. The district should
be applauded for its tenacity in the years-long fight to keep the policy,
which includes testing athletes as well as those in choir, FFA and other
groups.

School officials said they plan to scale back the testing somewhat for the
upcoming school year to save money. Still, they think the tests are needed
as a deterrent, giving students an easy out when tempted or pressured to do
drugs. We hope that's true.

Studies on the effectiveness of random drug testing are mixed. Initial
results from an Oregon study suggested drug use among athletes drops at
schools with random drug-testing policies. But after the preliminary
findings were released last year, the federal government suspended what was
supposed to be a three-year study over protocol concerns. The study still
isn't finished.

A University of Michigan study released in April found little relationship
between random testing and drug use. Researchers, though, acknowledged
their work was not "definitive."

Many schools won't join Tecumseh in broadening drug testing or even testing
at all. That's OK. The school board, with the community's support, is free
to make that choice even if no one joins them.