Pubdate: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) Copyright: 2007 The Commercial Appeal Contact: http://www.commercialappeal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/95 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) DRUG TESTS HIT A ROADBLOCK Their hearts were in the right place when three Shelby County high school principals tried to continue random drug testing of students engaged in extracurricular activities this week. "To heck with what the attorney general's office says," however, might not be the right lesson for young people to take from their high school experience going forward. Shelby County Schools officials were correct to halt the testing at Germantown, Houston and Millington High Schools, pending a review of an opinion authored by deputy Atty. Gen. Kate Eyler. According to Eyler, random testing is a violation of a state law that "allows drug testing of a student only when there are reasonable indications to the principal that the student may have used or may be under the influence of drugs." The opinion seems to reflect the will of the General Assembly on the issue. Whether the law should be changed or not is a question for another day, but in the present situation, caution is the proper course. It's hard to fault school principals for trying to discourage illegal drug use among students, particularly since random drug testing for students engaged in extracurricular activities has been ruled in conformance with the U.S. Constitution. The focus on students who want to play football, do some cheerleading and the like seems appropriate, too. While school attendance is mandatory, team sports, the marching band and the debate squad are not. They're voluntary acts, much like workers answering a help-wanted ad at a company that drug tests job applicants. Germantown High School principal Lonnie Harris, who has been using random drug testing for more than a decade, reasonably argues that it gives students a relatively easy, non-confrontational way to resist peer pressure on the illegal drug issue. But the state prohibition seems fairly straightforward, and most schools across the state that have been testing students have decided to comply, or at least take a wait-and-see attitude, since the opinion was issued in July. Whether testing eventually resumes or not, the controversy should provide a valuable teaching opportunity for students on a variety of issues, from the civil liberties granted by the Constitution to the practical realities of the workplaces that are awaiting. Smart teachers will take advantage of it, and students, like those in the generations that preceded them, should have plenty to say. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom