RANDOM DRUG TESTING PROTECTS CHILDREN

As a nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention of drug and alcohol
use by minors, Informed Families is delighted with the Supreme Court's
decision on Board of Education vs. Earls. The ruling states that the
school's interest in banishing drugs outweighs the privacy of students.

Schools must be allowed to use all reasonable means to combat drug and
alcohol use if education is to be successful and our schools are to be
safe. Drug testing deters drug use and gives students a reason to say No
when their peers ask them to use drugs.

Random drug testing is intended to give schools a stronger weapon to get
drugs out of schools. School drug-testing programs are a proven low-cost
method to win the fight for our children's future. Consider the results of
random testing of athletes at Hunterdon Central Regional High School in
Flemington, N.J. After two years of testing, the student population
experienced a decline in 20 of 28 categories of drug use.

The reality is that by the time the average parent discovers that a child
is using drugs, the child has been doing so for two years. School drug
testing coupled with drug education for parents, students, teachers and
coaches provides timely information to help people make good choices. It
can also get help for students before it's too late.

The best programs in the nation have two large education sessions per year:
one in the fall and one in the spring. These programs coincide with the
sports and extracurricular activities and require that a parent or legal
guardian attend. After the consequences of drug and alcohol use are
explained, attendees are asked to sign a contract stating that they
understand the school's policy and the repercussions of disobeying it.

I don't think this is harsh. It simply explains that students'
responsibility is not only to themselves and their families, but also to
their schools. This ruling makes responsibility a cornerstone of individual
choices.

PEGGY SAPP

President

Informed Families

Miami