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May 8, 2007

Testing, testing ... or not?

BoardBuzz caught sight of a pair of editorials (here and here) in today's USA Today on random student drug testing. We've covered the story a few times (here and even hosted an online discussion on the topic here) but we couldn't resist weighing in again.

We checked in with our favorite expert, NSBA Staff Attorney Lisa Soronen, to see what she thought of the editorials. Here's what she had to say:

When it comes to school district issues, one of the media’s darlings is student drug testing. USA Today takes a pro-random drug testing position citing a conversation a principal overheard between two students who were discussing how they were not going to use drugs at a party due to the district’s drug testing policy. Perhaps even more poignant is the same school board’s reasons for initially adopting the drug testing policy: a meth-addicted student attended a board meeting and begged for help.

Of course, there is little agreement regarding whether drug testing is a good idea. Both the editorial and a response to it point out that no research conclusively indicates drug testing actually deters drug use. Moreover, both articles point out that drug testing is not free – and even if it can be fairly characterized as inexpensive, dollars spent on drug testing could be spent on other activities that, for example, could keep children engaged between 3 and 6 p.m., when they're likely to get into dangerous situations.

Regardless of where a school board falls on the pro- or anti- side of the drug testing debate, perhaps the issue of combating drug use shows local control at its best. When the school board featured in the article received a cry for help, it responded. Maybe everyone will not agree with its response, but the board used a solution it felt was best for the local community to confront and hopefully overcome the problem.

Should schools randomly drug test students? Tell us what you think by leaving a comment.

Posted May 8, 2007 3:19 PM | Health & Wellness

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Comments(1)

Posted by: James Fallon on May 8, 2007 9:40 PM

Absolutely. Random Drug Testing is a powerful prevention tool. By law it has to be non-punitive and confidential. It's about time schools start catching up with employers in doing this, after all - students are our most vulnerable population when it comes to drugs.