William Kritsonis, School Law, Ch 9 Drug Testing 2

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• Student Drug Testing
• William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

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Vernonia School District v. Action

• The Student Athlete Drug Policy adopted by School
  District 47J in the town of Vernonia, Oregon,
  authorizes random urinalysis drug testing of
  students who participate in the District's school
  athletics programs. We granted certiorari to
  decide whether this violates the Fourth and
  Fourteenth Amendments to the United States
  Constitution.

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Pottawatomie County et al. v. Earls

• In the case of the Board of Education of
  Independent School District No. 92 of
  Pottawatomie County et al. v. Earls et al., the
  U.S. Supreme Court upheld a drug-testing program
  for students involved in competitive
  extracurricular activities.

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Bean v. Tulia I.S.D

• Tulia ISD has a policy of random drug testing for
  students participating in athletics and other
  extra-curricular activities for grades 7-12.
• Amos Bean, a student within the Tulia ISD,
  claimed that the drug-testing policy violated his
  rights under the U.S. and Texas constitutions.
  Under the U.S. District Court ruling, Bean is now
  required to pay the schools taxable court costs.
  Alan Bean, father of Amos, is currently undecided
  on appealing the ruling.

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Why drug test students

• Drugs have far more serious adverse effects on
  adolescents than on adults
• Some drugs can cause serious problems with memory
  and learning, as well as difficulty in thinking
  and problem solving
• may cause long-lasting damage to brain areas
  that are critical for thought and memory.

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Effects of drug testing

• Prevent dropout rates
• Provide a safer school env6ironment
• Prevent violence

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Risk of drug test

• Not 100 accurate
• More than one test may need to take place
• Students drug test must remain confidential

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Types of drug testing

• Urine
• Hair
• Sweat Patch
• Oral Fluids

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When drug test are positive

• Not to be used for punishment but timely
  intervention and appropriate treatment
• the school's crucial next step is to contact the
  parents and help them stop their child's drug use
  
• refer the student to a trained substance-abuse
  counselor, who can perform a drug assessment and
  determine whether the child needs treatment or
  other specialized help
• school will want to perform follow-up drug tests
  on students with positive results to make sure
  they stay drug free

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Students beating the test

• Some drink large amounts of water
• Some add bleach, salt or vinegar to their sample
• May use other drug free friends to leave samples
  of urine

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Conclusion

• The aim of drug testing is not to trap and punish
  students who use drugs. It is, in fact,
  counterproductive simply to punish them without
  trying to alter their behavior. If drug-using
  students are suspended or expelled without any
  attempt to change their ways, the community will
  be faced with drug-using dropouts, an even bigger
  problem in the long run. The purpose of testing,
  then, is to prevent drug dependence and to help
  drug dependent students become drug free.