Pubdate: Thu, 23 May 2002
Source: New Jersey Herald (NJ)
Copyright: 2002, Quincy Newspapers, Inc
Contact:  http://www.njherald.com/news/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2162
Author: David G. Evans
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

RANDOM DRUG TESTING NEEDED IN SCHOOLS

Editor:

The state Department of Education's recent "Report on Violence, Vandalism 
and Substance Abuse in New Jersey's Schools" shows that substance abuse 
incidents in our schools are up 20 percent. The U.S. Supreme Court and the 
New Jersey courts will soon decide cases on whether a school's interest in 
deterring students from using drugs by the use of random drug testing 
outweighs the privacy interest of the students. Our hope is that the courts 
will uphold random drug testing of students. Drug testing deters drug use.

When drugs invade a school, threatening the safety of students and 
disturbing the orderly learning environment, the school's interest in 
ridding the school of drugs outweighs the privacy interests of students. 
The school years are a critical passage in a young person's life. While in 
school, children face the challenge of learning in the academic, social, 
physical, and emotional realms. When drugs infect a school it cripples the 
learning process. Children become casualties. The physical and 
psychological effects of drug and alcohol use can cause lifelong and 
profound losses. Substance use decreases a child's chances of graduation 
and academic success.

Researchers continually report statistics demonstrating that student drug 
and alcohol use is at a dangerous level. For example, the National Center 
on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University reports that 
for the last six years school children have listed drugs as the most 
important problem they face.

A 1997 CASA survey revealed that high school students see more drug deals 
at school than in their neighborhoods. In the survey, 76 percent of high 
school students claim that drugs are kept, used or sold on school grounds. 
In addition, 29 percent of high school students claim that a student in 
their school died from a drug or alcohol-related incident in the past year.

CASA also reports that substance abuse adds at least $41 billion to the 
costs of elementary and secondary education in terms of special education, 
teacher turnover, truancy, property damage, injury counseling, and other costs.

According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 
students who use drugs are more likely to bring guns and knives to school 
leading to school violence. According to state report, assaults are up 30 
percent with school staff as victims in 19 percent of the cases.

Schools must be allowed to use all reasonable means to combat drugs and 
alcohol use if education is to be successful and our schools are to be 
safe. Drug testing deters drug use and gives students a reason to say "no" 
when their peers ask them to use drugs.

Random drug testing is intended to give schools a stronger weapon to get 
drugs out of schools. School drug testing programs are a proven low-cost 
method to win the fight for our children's future. Consider the results of 
random drug testing of athletes at Hunterdon Central Regional High School 
in Flemington. After two years of testing they experienced a decline in 20 
of 28 categories of drug use in the whole student population.

Our nation uses random drug testing on military personnel and 
transportation workers to insure national security and safe travel. Our 
interests in student safety, health and educational quality are equally 
compelling. We must be willing to use the same tools to defend our 
children. They deserve no less.

David G. Evans, Esq.

Executive Director, Drug Free Schools Coalition
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MAP posted-by: Beth