Pubdate: Fri, 10 May 2013
Source: Orlando Sentinel (FL)
Copyright: 2013 Orlando Sentinel
Contact:  http://www.orlandosentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/325
Note: Rarely prints out-of-state LTEs.
Author: Harold J. Krent
Note: Guest columnist Harold J. Krent is dean and professor of law at 
Illinois Institute of Technology's Chicago-kent College of Law.

Should Schools Drug-Test Students?

RANDOM TESTING CAN SEND STUDENTS A HARMFUL MESSAGE

The testing, therefore, may blunt the school's educational mission by 
elevating an atmosphere of discipline over one of nurturing.

There is no place for drugs in school, and Lake Highland Preparatory, 
as a private school, has every legal right to subject its students to 
random drug testing. Although courts have held that random drug 
testing in public schools violates the Fourth Amendment, private 
schools are not bound by the constitutional provisions constraining 
public schools, such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion and 
the right to be free from unreasonable searches.

Yet, the legality of random drug testing does not suggest its wisdom. 
The testing sends a poignant signal of mistrust to the school's 
students. The administration at Lake Highland Prep must believe that 
illegal drug use is so prevalent that everyone must be subject to search.

It is not just that the administration's testing program will 
generate ill will, but that the students will be less likely to 
confide in teachers in the future.

Teenagers often turn to teachers to share problems at home, problems 
with peers, issues of sexuality and questions about drug use as well. 
Students at schools with random drug testing may not be as willing to 
come forward. The testing, therefore, may blunt the school's 
educational mission by elevating an atmosphere of discipline over one 
of nurturing.

The drawbacks of random drug testing extend further. Schools across 
the country struggle to teach their students appropriate boundaries 
about personal information. Privacy is important - even in this world 
of Instagram and Facebook. Schools instruct students that a public 
display today on Facebook may have serious repercussions down the 
road when college-admissions officers or prospective employers scan 
social media for information.

Students should be concerned with allowing the details of their lives 
to be exposed and assessed by third parties, whether Facebook users 
or the company hired to perform the drug searches. An administration 
that does not appear to value students' privacy will have a harder 
time bringing home these lessons. Moreover, teachers should teach 
students not only about the students' own need for privacy, but about 
the importance of respecting their peers' privacy as well. An 
unthinking remark on line about a classmate can go viral. Teaching 
the value of privacy should be a fundamental goal.

When schools invade the privacy of students to test for drugs, 
whether by collecting urine, blood or hair samples, the lesson is 
that privacy can be ignored for the sake of other goals.

One of the most critical questions in our society today arises from 
the tension between privacy and collective security. Should 
law-enforcement officials be able to read emails, tap phones or 
access everyone's social-media accounts to enhance collective 
security? Should DNA be collected from everyone and entered into a 
national database so that law-enforcement officers can check for a 
match with DNA material left at the scene of a crime?

Too often individual interests - whether autonomy or the right to be 
left alone - get lost in the shuffle. Society may benefit from 
preserving for individuals a safe space in which to create, vent or 
fantasize free from government oversight. And, data banks have been 
hacked with alarming frequency, resulting in public disclosure of 
private information. Schools should help students grapple with such 
difficult trade-offs, free from the distorting presence of their own 
random testing.

To be sure, drug use can cripple a school's educational mission. Drug 
use impedes students' ability to learn, may harm their health and may 
compromise other students' efforts. But, random drug testing should 
be a last resort.

By focusing on discipline rather than education, and by creating an 
adversarial relationship between students and administration, the 
testing can undermine a school's educational mission. As a result, 
students may not learn to respect the privacy of others and value 
privacy for themselves.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom