“DON’T DO DRUGS!” This phrase is constantly repeated and everywhere you look at schools. They start preaching this to students at a young age to ensure that when the children are older they don’t participate in taking drugs. It has been recorded by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse that around seventeen percent of high school students are either drinking, smoking, or using drugs sometime throughout the school day (Huffpost, 2012). Imagine how many students are abusing or using drugs outside of school. Due to this high rate of drug and alcohol abuse drug testing in schools has become very popular. Random drug testing is a concept of many procedures and tests that ensure the capture of drug abusers and misusers in a legal manner.
What is random drug testing and why do schools do it?
Random drug testing is a part of a drug prevention program used in high schools. The students are tested during school hours and tested for recent use of illicit drugs. Random drug testing requires anyone despite prevailing circumstances with drug history. It can also require students involved in extracurricular activities to be drug tested randomly if they are wanting to continue participating. Extracurriculars could involve: sports, clubs, organizations, cheer, and band. Schools are also allowed to conduct a drug test due to suspicion. If someone is suspicious or has evidence that a student is using drugs they may be asked to take a urine test. Suspicion would include: the
For decades, one of the most controversial debate topics has been whether random drug testing in high schools is justified. I St. Andrews Collage is one of the schools that participates in unannounced drug testing to monitor that the boys do not stray off track. In order to be accepted into the school, you must sign a form that says at any point in your years at the school, the school may be able to drug test you if they feel required. If any of the students test positive during their drug tests, that student will be expelled from the school. Personally, I find drug testing within high school an extreme invasion of privacy and I believe
Say no to drugs! Goggle search said “Drugs are one of the top causes of teen deaths and suicides in the United States.” Drugs have been around for years and each year the death rates and suicide rates have increased dramatically especially in teen students. This is why it is very important that parents teach their kid at an early age about drugs. The Teachers and school staff are trying their best to teach the kids that drugs are not cool. The schools think it is best that all Middle School Students should be drug tested. The drug-testing program serves as a deterrent for middle school students that are encountering drugs of all kinds, including steroids, alcohol and marijuana.
The goal of mandatory drug testing would be to reduce student substance by deterring substance use, detecting substance use, and the influence of the behaviors of students peers. Students involved in extracurricular activities, such as sports that are subject to in school drug testing, report less drug use than students in high school that do not play a sport and do not get drug tested. By drug testing the Athens student body would help by insure a safe, secure, and healthy school environment where students can reach their full academic potential to learn. Athens High schools goal should be to identify students with possible drug abuse issues and to intervene. Students should be required to take drug test to be allowed to park on campus. Less drugs in
In January of 1996, six months after the United States Supreme Court ruled that it was appropriate for Oregon’s school district 47J in Vernonia, to require student athletes in middle school and high school to participate in random, suspicionless drug tests, one percent out of the 16,000 schools in the country had brought the random drug testing into their facilities. (Taylor, Robert) Even though the Supreme Court ruled this way, they did not feel that this testing was a good idea. There had to of been some reason for this. (Bailey, William) If only one out 16,000 schools pick up on drug testing as a good idea, then there is more than likely something that the schools don’t think is right with it or they are unable to do it for some reason. Research shows that drug testing of public school athletes is not a good idea because it singles out athletes from all of the students in the school and suspects them of using drugs it is also a waste of time and money, and consists of low accuracy tests that so not always give the correct results.
After years of delays, rising tensions and hours of discussion, a proposal to randomly drug-test Zionsville High School students was approved Monday night.The Zionsville School Board voted 3-2 in favor of the new policy which requires any students who elect to participate in extracurricular activities or park on school property to consent to random drug tests.Students who fail a drug test will be required to enter and complete a drug counseling program.The approved plan is a variation of one supported years ago by the Zionsville Student Rights Union. They also proposed that only students who park or participate in afterschool programs be tested, but the union plan wanted students to face no consequences at school, and for positive results to
The state spent $493,000 on drug testing for this fiscal year. It received 32,511 welfare applications and referred 636 for drug testing. Only twenty came back positive, although nearly two hundred people refused to comply. But even if all 200 were drug users, that still comes to more than $2,200 per positive result, which is more expensive than the median benefit in the state. (Benen 1)
In many high schools around the country, student athletes are using drugs. “The percent of students that have drunk alcohol is 72.5% while the number of students who have used marijuana is 36.8%” (Report: Nearly Half of High School Students Using Drugs, Alcohol). The students believe that since they are athletes that they do not need to abide by the rules because they feel more superior and that the narcotic will not hurt or affect them. Implementing random drug tests for athletes will create a positive image and not hurt others or themselves. Schools need to have drug tests for student athletes because drugs effect relationships, using drugs have consequences, and lastly they have a major effect on the body.
Random drug testing is starting to become more frequent in schools; especially towards student athletes. Schools have been drug testing student athletes since approximately 1995 and in 2002, the court made it a law that high school athletes must be drug tested. There are several testing methods that use hair, urine, oral fluids, and sweat. Urine testing is the most popular type of testing for drugs. The debate of drug testing student athletes is still on the rise amongst people. Supporters of drug testing student athletes believe that drug use in student athletes is becoming popular. Supporters of this think that drug testing will help get through the athletes and that this is the most effective way to do.
drug testing cases to refer to the testing of a student who is not suspected of drug use.
Slowly pushing students to become addicts, drug testing high school student athletes may or may not be to blame. In Facts & Statistics on Random Drug Testing of High School Students, Dr. M.H. Davis stated, “In the early 1990s, many school districts began to look into drug testing as a way to curb student drug use, which led to two U.S. Supreme Court cases involving student privacy. The court upheld the constitutionality of drug testing student athletes in 1995, and in 2002, the court expanded high school drug testing policies to include all students who participate in a competitive extracurricular activity. In those rulings, the court stated deterring student drug use was more important than privacy” (Davis). Drug testing high school athletes
“You want to get in there and plant these seeds of what’s out there and do prevention early.” Kids in middle school are exposed to so many things at an earlier age than they were 20 years ago. This could because the access of the drugs is so much easier these days with all of the social media, and cell phones. The counteraction of exposing them to the education and prevention of drugs will reduce the negative symptoms and results of drug use. Early drug testing would also send a message to kids that this is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our schools. There are so many factors at risk with early drug experimentation by kids of such a young age, that drug testing in middle school is something that schools should really start
The big controversy right now within the government and high schools is whether or not random drug testing should be legal in schools. There are many reasons why it should not be legalized, one reason being it goes against the fourth amendment. Why should we have testing in schools when many major health organizations oppose it? All it will do is make teens turn to other illegal and counterproductive things. These are many reasons why drug testing should not be allowed in high schools.
Have you ever thought what would happen if the people who receive government assistance had to be drug tested prior to receiving help, like many who must be tested to keep their job? Many people must go through drug testing to get a job, then after they have it, they may be selected to be randomly tested again to keep their job. There are people down on their luck or going through a rough patch where they need to receive government assistance, nothing but an application needs to be filled out prior to receiving payment from the government. Drug testing for government assistance and how it may benefit the state budget is at the forefront of many news stories. Types of government programs available for different assistance, laws causing
Many high schools across the country have brought much attention to the idea of giving random drug tests to students in high school. The newfound interest in student drug testing may be as a result of recent polls, which have shown an increase in drug use among high school students. Many teachers, parents, and members of school comities are for the drug testing, while most students and some parents feel that this would be a violation of students rights as Americans, which is true.
Introducing the fear to students on drug testing that will directly affect them, will most likely decrease the use of drugs being abused. The president of the Institute for Behavior and Health explains that RSDT (Random Student Drug Test) could be used on any athlete, any day, and any time without notice (DuPont et al ¶6). Making the testing random will help eliminate any cheating or strategizing that the students who would test positive could be doing. Keith Ablow, MD and psychiatrist published an article in 2011 said that, both varsity and junior varsity teams should be tested with results kept private (¶6). To only test Varsity athletes would be unacceptable because JV athletes could cause just as much harm to athletes around them as to themselves. To make it fair and because kids follow by example, coaches would test also (Ablow ¶ 9). When a positive test appears, there should be punishment, but not to the extent of expulsion. Guidelines to RSDT programs say it is not supposed to end up in punishment for drug tests (DuPont et al ¶25). Not giving any punishment would defeat the purpose because then kids would not care to stop their drug use. Random drug tests to not only student-athletes, but students in general will promote a healthier lifestyle without drug use (DuPont et al ¶5). Students should be on edge not knowing if they are going to be tested or