RANDOM DRUG TESTS FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS

To the Editor:

Re "Is This the Answer to Drug Use?" (March 25):

As a parent of two children who graduated from Delaware Valley
Regional High School and an expert in the field of student drug
testing, I absolutely support random student drug testing as a
deterrent to help solve the problem of teenage drug use. I have been a
very active participant at the high school in a variety of capacities,
mostly with the school marching band as a chaperone, and can tell you
that every school in our state has an issue with student drug use; to
deny it is ludicrous and being ignorant to what peer pressure can do
to our children.

Like random drug testing in the workplace, random school testing as
defined by the courts is a clear deterrent against drug use.
Furthermore, random drug testing of student athletes in high school is
no different for those same students than if they should later
participate in National Collegiate Athletic Association programs.

And what about as they enter the work force? More than 90 percent of
Fortune 500 companies perform pre-employment drug testing.

Testing students on a random basis is logical, and it's been upheld by
the highest court in the country.

Robert L. Aromando Jr.

Flemington

The writer is managing partner of K Street Associates, a health care
consulting firm that works with drug-testing companies.