Pubdate: Tue, 23 Mar 1999 Source: Florida Today (FL) Copyright: 1999 FLORIDA TODAY Contact: http://www.flatoday.com/letters.htm Website: http://www.flatoday.com/ SUPREME COURT RESTRICTS DRUG TESTING OF STUDENTS The Supreme Court, limiting the drug testing of students, refused Monday to allow a school district to test those who violate its disciplinary rules. While individuals who appear to be under the influence of drugs can be tested at school, officials may not routinely test groups of students, under the ruling that the high court let stand. The Constitution's Fourth Amendment protects students, as well as adults, from unreasonable searches by public officials, the ruling stressed. "This decision says that just because you are a student, you don't lose all your rights to privacy," said Kenneth Falk, a lawyer for the Indiana Civil Liberties Union. Falk represented a freshman who successfully challenged the school drug-testing policy in Anderson, Ind. Mandatory drug testing in schools, once considered a step in the "war on drugs," appears to be fading as an option, experts say, a victim of privacy concerns, high costs and adverse court rulings. Most large urban school districts have not adopted widespread or routine drug testing. At roughly $50 a student, such testing is expensive for a large system, officials say. Moreover, it would be seen as a highly intrusive invasion of privacy for officials to insist that presumably innocent students undergo drug tests, said Howard Friedman, an assistant general counsel for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Instead, the lead cases in school drug testing have come from small towns in Oregon, Indiana and Colorado. "They have the feeling they don't want to become like New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. In these (small town) communities, there is minimal opposition" to mandatory drug testing, Falk said. Four years ago, the Supreme Court opened the door to routine testing at schools when it upheld a urine-testing program for school athletes in rural Vernonia, Ore. Because students playing sports while under the influence of drugs could be injured, it is reasonable to force them to undergo regular urine testing, the high court concluded. A year later, a school district in Rushville, Ind., went a step further and adopted regular testing for all students who participated in extracurricular activities. Meanwhile, the court also: - - Agreed to decide whether Hawaii can bar white people from voting to elect the trustees who oversee a fund for the benefit of native Hawaiians. The lower courts have upheld the restriction, but the court will hear the appeal of Harold Rice, a rancher who says the rule is an example of unconstitutional race discrimination. (Rice vs. Cayetano) - - Let stand a $1.9 million verdict by a Seattle jury against an anti-cult group whose members were accused of helping to abduct an 18-year-old from a Pentecostal Christian church to "deprogram" him. The group said it should not be held liable simply because it referred the teen-ager's mother to a "deprogrammer." (Cult Awareness Network vs. Scott) - - Upheld an Ohio law that required state university professors to spend more time in the classroom. The state Supreme Court had struck it down as unconstitutional, citing the principle of equal protection under the law. In an unsigned opinion, the justices reversed that ruling in Central State University vs. America Association of University Professors. - --- MAP posted-by: Patrick Henry