Drug Testing in Schools
...recognize that constitutional barriers probably prohibit public schools from subjecting the general student body to random drug testing”, students involved in extracurricular activities or sports may be drug tested. However, these activities act as a barrier for drug use, making the students less likely to use drugs. If there is no reasonable suspicion of drug use, the school districts’ concern is not legitimate, and the ruling should not affect those students. Unfortunately, they are not so lucky. The means of “protecting” these students from drugs are unreasonable. According to the Fourth Amendment, persons are protected from “unreasonable searches and seizures”. Students who are required to provide a urine sample without suspicion of drug use are being waived of their Fourth Amendment right. For example, a person pulled over for a traffic violation who exhibits no signs of drug use may not be drug tested, nor may their vehicle be searched. If adults who are more at risk for drug use protected by the Fourth Amendment, why aren’t student with less of a risk? During this year alone over $30 billion have been spent on the “War on Drugs”, the majority of drug users being adults (nida.nig.gov). Should the youth of the nation be subjected to not only drug testing, but also be governed with a double standard? In addition to being unconstitutional, these tests directly imply mistrust and incriminate the students they are designed to protect. School wide drug testing would disrupt the learning environment of students and humiliate the users who are caught. In a recent court case, The Board of Education of Independent School District Number 92 of Pottawatomie County vs. Earls, a student objected to a required urine test for drugs before being permitted to sing in the school choir. When analyzing this case the Supreme Court was to decide whether or not the drug test was a reasonable method of addressing the school’s concern of possible drug use. The court decided so 5-4. Though the district had legitimate concerns for drug use, the most likely users are the least likely to participate in extracurricular...