ON RANDOM DRUG TESTING

The Supreme Court recently gave its approval to random drug testing of
public high school students involved in extracurricular activities.

By a vote of 5 to 4, the court ruled that local school officials can
require drug tests of students in the band or on the debate team.

If we really believe demanding urine samples from the Chess Club will stop
drug use, why not test all students?

Why not? Because mandatory drug testing for all students begins to sound as
invasive, excessive and unnecessary as it is.

When tight budgets mean school districts are fighting for the very
existence of extracurricular activities it is not the time to introduce
costly measures aimed in the wrong direction: at kids who are involved in
wholesome activities.

In fact, one of the ways experts including the Partnership for a Drug- Free
America cite over and over as a way to keep kids away from drugs is to
involve them in adult-supervised activities after school.

Children are not adults. Still, they are not undeserving of some of the
rights afforded to adults under the Constitution including an expectation
of some privacy and protection from unreasonable searches.

Observer Dispatch, Utica, N.Y.