Pubdate: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 Source: Orlando Sentinel (FL) Copyright: 2002 Orlando Sentinel Contact: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/325 Author: Denise-Marie Balona SCHOOLS CAN DRUG-TEST STUDENTS IN AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES, COURT SAYS School districts across the nation can require drug tests of cheerleaders, debaters and any other students involved in after-school activities, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday. Until now, only student-athletes could be tested, and not many Florida districts do it. Cost could be a major factor in whether drug screening becomes more common anytime soon. And Florida schools are experiencing budget problems. The high court's decision gives schools the broadest authority yet to test students not suspected of wrongdoing. It applies to students who join any after-school activity, a category that can include most students at middle and high schools. Ruling 5-4 in an Oklahoma case, justices declared that schools' interest in ridding campuses of drugs outweighs an individual's right to privacy. Writing for the majority -- himself, Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer -- Justice Clarence Thomas described such testing "a reasonably effective means of addressing the school district's legitimate concerns . . ." Breyer, who provided the crucial fifth vote, wrote separately to say that he hopes the testing reduces peer pressure and "addresses a serious national problem." "It offers the adolescent a nonthreatening reason to decline his friend's drug-use invitations, namely that he intends to play baseball, participate in debate, join the band or engage in any one of a half-dozen useful, interesting and important activities," he wrote. Voicing privacy concerns John Wesley Hall Jr., a leader of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said he fears students will have to sacrifice privacy to build skills for careers and beef up college resumes. Of the estimated 14 million American high-school students, more than half likely participate in an organized after-school activity, educators say. The trend is toward even greater involvement, largely because colleges consider it a factor in admissions. "I don't have a problem with random drug testing for athletes purely for safety reasons," Hall said. "How do you rationalize testing the chess club and competitive band? That's almost laughable. You can't even say it without snickering." There's no Florida law allowing or prohibiting random testing of students. Districts set their own policies. In Central Florida, only Osceola County tests athletes. 'Let's do it all the way' Miami-Dade County tried random testing but eventually dropped it. Officials wanted to include all high-school students but needed parents' permission. Few teens returned signed permission slips. Manty Sabates Morse, a School Board member there, doesn't want to single out one group of students. "I just don't know if going into the clubs or anything is what I want to do," she said. "I want to protect our kids, but if it's going to be random, let's do it all the way and protect all of them." Amber Efird, 15, a DeLand High School cheerleader, said she hopes Volusia County schools won't start discussing the issue again. "Most people don't do drugs on campus," she said. "They do it on their own time, when they're home, so it really has nothing to do with school." Thursday's ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed on behalf of Lindsay Earls, a former Oklahoma honor student who competed on an academic quiz team and sang in the choir. She tested negative for drugs but called it a humiliating and accusatory policy. Her school system had considered testing all students. Instead, it settled for testing only those in extracurricular activities on the theory that students voluntarily representing their school had a lower expectation of privacy than students at large. White House backs ruling In 1995, the court allowed random urine tests for student-athletes on that theory. Thursday's ruling was a logical next step, the court majority agreed. The Bush administration backed the school system in rural Tecumseh, Okla. Justices stopped short of allowing random tests for any student, but several have indicated they are interested in answering that question at some point. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor and David Souter said extracurricular activities should not be discouraged. In her dissent, Ginsburg said the "program upheld today is not reasonable, it is capricious, even perverse." County might test band In Florida's Santa Rosa County, where high schools have tested athletes and cheerleaders for years, officials may start testing the marching band, officials said. Some Osceola officials said it might be best to let schools decide whether to expand drug testing. Mike Frensley, an assistant principal at Osceola High School, where athletes are tested, isn't sure how much interest there would be in including other student groups. "I don't anticipate our being bombarded with requests for us to include drug testing in their individual activities, but who knows?" he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens