Parents Outraged as Public Schools Announce Random Drug Tests for Their Children

 Clark County, IN — Many parents are speaking out this week after a  school district in Indiana announced that they will start randomly drug  testing their children. On top of the invasion of privacy, staff members  observing children as the provide the samples is also concerning and  this practice is growing across the country. 

According to ABC 13, Henryville  High School and Borden High School will randomly select ten students  each quarter and test them for ten drugs that teenagers are most likely  to use. One concerned parent spoke to ABC 13 to let the school know how he  wished the school would’ve reached out to the parents before deciding to  drug test their children. “There has to be a reasoning, and you have to talk to a parent  beforehand,” one concerned parent, Lance Leach said. “Like suspicious  behavior or they got caught doing something, then maybe, but not just  random drug testing.” 

Other parents, apparently unconcerned with the government doing their jobs for them, support the move. “They do that in high school, even in middle school. Maybe some of  the drugs will be stopped from being brought to school,” grandparent  Deanna Allen said. Currently, the program will only target students in extracurricular activities but could be changed to include all students. The drug tests will also be paid for by the students  themselves—funded through a $10 parking pass for students who can drive  to school. Whether or not students will be turned over to police for testing  positive remains unclear. However, if students do test positive, the  school noted that they will become ineligible for one-third of scheduled  extracurricular activities. If they are caught multiple times, they  will be ineligible for the rest of their school career. The state playing the role of parent in this situation is definitely a  slippery slope. Making sure kids don’t take drugs that can harm them is  the job of a parent. 

Parents relying on the state to do this for them  are surrendering their responsibilities and embarking down a dark path. If schools are serious about keeping their students from abusing drugs, as the ACLU points out, then they should listen to the experts – to the National Education Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry –  who all say that one of the best ways to keep kids off drugs is to get  them involved in school and extra-curricular activities. Instead of  putting up barriers like drug testing, schools should engage students in  meaningful activities. 

What’s more, there is no evidence showing that randomly drug testing  students does anything to deter drug use and it does nothing to address  what’s causing kids from doing drugs in the first place. Proponents of these measures claim that students are getting into  drugs at an increasing rate. 

However, one aspect of this whole situation  that is often overlooked is the fact that many students take drugs  because public school is so traumatizing and torturous. Many students  seem to take drugs simply to make the day go faster while they are in a  place that closely resembles a prison. 

If young adults are taking drugs in their teenage years, and it  becomes damaging or unhealthy, there is obviously a reason and a root  cause for their drug abuse. This is not a problem that can be solved  with punishments and lectures, but rather, is a problem that can only be  solved by targeting the depression, anxiety and pressure that young  adults experience in this society. If you are a student or parent who wishes to fight this most invasive  policy, you can. 

As the ACLU points out, any student can express his or  her discomfort with drug testing. Depending on the laws in your state,  you not only have the right to vocally oppose drug testing, but you may  also have a right to legally challenge drug testing in your school. In  order for a school to implement a drug testing policy, there must  usually be reasonable suspicion that you, as an individual, are using  drugs. Unless you are an athlete, the fact that some students may be  using drugs may not be enough to allow a public school to drug test you! 

The implications of a government violating the sanctity of a child’s  body to search for “illegal” substances are grave, to say the least.  Imagine the horrid society that would result from children who consider  government claiming the right to know the content of their bodies as  “normal.” A Brave New World, indeed.