Pubdate: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 Source: Athens Banner-Herald (GA) Copyright: 2005 Athens Newspapers Inc Contact: http://www.onlineathens.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1535 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) RANDOM TESTING FOR DRUGS IS NOT A PROPER POLICY It's certainly understandable a community would want to protect its young people from the risky behaviors that routinely tempt them. A look at the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey - conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and involving more than 15,000 middle- and high-school students nationwide - provides an interesting snapshot of the numbers of students engaging in such behaviors. The survey clearly shows drug use is an issue for teenagers. According to the survey, 22.4 percent of students reported using marijuana at least once in the month before the survey, 4.1 percent reported cocaine use during the same time and 3.9 percent reported using inhalants. So maybe there is some justification for the Commerce Board of Education's consideration of the possibility of randomly testing students for drug use. A proposed rule that could get a board vote in April would subject many of the school system's middle- and high-school students to random, orally administered drug tests. The tests could be administered to students involved in extracurricular activities or who have privileges such as driving to school every day. But what about students who engage in activities that are, arguably, at least as risky - or in some cases, clearly more risky - than drug use? The CDC survey also showed, for instance, that 8.5 percent of students attempted suicide one or more times in the 12 months prior to the survey. But no one is suggesting the Commerce Board of Education ought to require students to submit to random psychiatric evaluations to determine whether they are likely to take their own lives. The survey also showed that 4.2 percent of students had either been pregnant, or gotten someone pregnant, one or more times. But no one is suggesting the Commerce school board needs to require female students to submit to random pregnancy tests. Not included in the CDC survey were risks associated with teen driving. But traffic accidents are the leading cause of death among people 15 to 20 years of age, claiming an average of 15 teens daily, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration official told CBS News last year. Still, no one is suggesting the Commerce Board of Education require students who drive to submit to random tests of their ability to handle a motor vehicle. Returning to the CDC survey, it showed, on a less provocative note, that 17.3 percent of students were injured while exercising or playing sports. But no one is suggesting the Commerce Board of Education should eliminate the school system's sports programs. So why should the desire to address drug use in the Commerce school system, particularly when Superintendent Larry White said Wednesday that "(t)here's not a problem that's been pinpointed" within the system? An answer might be found in something else White said, when he noted Wednesday, "There's a drug problem in our society. Anyone who won't admit that has their eyes in the sand." Pardoning the mixed metaphor, it appears White and the Commerce school board may be considering random drug testing because it represents at least something they can do to shield the young people in their charge from at least one of the temptations they face. But what cost does such a testing policy carry with it? While it would, as White noted Wednesday, provide students with a ready excuse not to succumb to peer pressure, it would also let those students know, in no uncertain terms, that they are not trusted. School officials should, without question, intervene when there is clear evidence a student is abusing drugs. But a random testing policy would do little more than create the clear impression among students that they can never earn the trust of the adults in their lives. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin