Kathy’s Concerns and Reflections…
As the school year gets well underway, we are faced with many issues concerning safety for our students. It is difficult to keep the balance between the students’ rights and making a proactive attempt to provide a safe environment for our students. One of the controversial safety concerns for school officials is the growing national drug abuse among youth. The goal of prevention is to stop drug abuse before it ever begins. Random drug testing can provide young people with a reason never to start using drugs, protecting them during a time when they are the most vulnerable to peer pressure and the adverse health effects of drug use.
School districts throughout the state have worked very hard to create drug testing policies that provide the element of prevention and assure that the policy does not infringe upon students’ rights. Much time has been given to research and study of the effectiveness of such policies. If public schools are mandated to provide a “safe environment, free of drugs and violence”, they must be given the tools needed to do so. Most current random drug testing policies only apply to those students participating in extra-curricular activities. Of course, schools have the right to test any public school student who has caused suspicion. Such incident is a different matter and would bring cause for immediate drug testing, which does not fall within the random drug-testing in question. The goal of random drug testing programs is prevention and early intervention.
As a mother, grandmother, and a public school employee, I appreciate the support of parents in our community toward this effort. As we progress through the school year, I encourage parents to take the time to discuss with your children and young adults the drug policy for your district and the importance of such policies. Research shows that although it still brings some debate, random student drug testing helps to stop drug use before it begins. In the future, maybe support for such programs will grow so that random drug testing will apply to all students, not just those seeking participation in extra-curricular activities. This may very well be one of the most important measures we can offer to today’s children and young adults.
Support Drug-Free Schools for all students
Kathy Davis, Federal Programs Administrator
