DRUGS IN SCHOOLS

Random Testing Of Students Is Wrong Response

Some schools' attempts to do random drug tests on students involved in
after-school activities goes way too far.

The U.S. Supreme Court should not buy their arguments that this is a
reasonable response to the problem of drug use among young people.

Too many kids still use drugs -- from alcohol and marijuana to inhalants
and, increasingly, ecstasy. Fighting that problem is certainly within the
state's interest. But taking urine samples from any young person who wants
to be active in school -- without any suspicion of drug use -- is an
invasive overreaction. In fact, it could be counter-productive, driving
students away from school instead of keeping them active and engaged, which
might divert them from temptation.

Being involved in a club or a play doesn't compromise students'
constitutional right to privacy. The Fourth Amendment doesn't discriminate
between kids who participate in school activities and those who don't; it
prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures for all of them.

In the past, justices ruled that high school athletes could be tested. The
court reasoned the school was responsible for students' health, which could
be jeopardized by mixing sports and drugs. That argument doesn't translate
easily to chess and choir.

Knowing how important it is to keep students involved, groups as diverse as
the American Academy of Pediatrics, National Education Association and
National Association of Social Workers have filed friend-of-the-court
briefs in opposition to the policy. So has the National Council on Drug and
Alcohol Dependence, which should know something about the best strategy for
fighting drug use.

Getting a driver's license should be a rite of teen passage; getting
drug-tested should not.