Drug Testing in Schools
“[W]e find that testing students
who participate in extracurricular
activities is a reasonably
effective means of addressing
the School District’s legitimate
concerns in preventing, deterring,
and detecting drug use.”
Justice Clarence Thomas
U.S. Supreme Court
JUNE 27, 2002
Board of Education of Independent School
District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls
Foreword
In June 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court broadened the authority of
public schools to test students for illegal drugs. Voting 5 to 4, the
Court ruled to allow random drug tests for all middle and high
school students participating in competitive extracurricular activities.
The ruling greatly expands the scope of school drug testing, which
previously had been allowed only for student athletes.
There are those, of course, who will represent
the Court’s decision as a blow against privacy
and a victory for “Big Brother.” These concerns
are largely unfounded, however, and to
focus on them is to ignore the enormous
potential benefits of drug testing. Already,
testing has been shown to be extremely effective
at reducing drug use in schools and businesses
all over the country. As a deterrent, few
methods work better or deliver clearer results.
Drug testing of airline pilots and school bus
drivers, for example, has made our skies and
roads safer for travel.
Parents, educators—indeed, anyone concerned about the welfare of
our young people—should welcome the High Court’s action. It’s a
big step in the right direction, for it gives every school in every city
and every town a powerful new tool for controlling one of the worst
threats facing kids today.
The ruling could not have come at a better time. Monitoring the
Future, a national survey that tracks drug use among America’s
D R U G T E S T I N G I N S C H O O L S i
John P. Walters
youth, reports that in 2001 more than half of all students had used
illicit drugs by the time they finished high school.Moreover, the
2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse revealed that of the
4.5 million people age 12 and older who need drug treatment, 23
percent are teenagers.
This failure to protect our children from drug use and addiction is
unacceptable.We cannot responsibly withhold tools as effective as
drug testing from communities that believe such measures are
appropriate and will save young lives.
Research shows that people who make it through their teenage years
without using drugs are much less likely to start using them when
they are older. So if testing can help keep kids off drugs and alcohol,
if it can help free young minds for learning and allow growing bodies
to escape the devastating cycle of dependence or addiction, it
will be a valuable and important new tool.
Experience has taught us that people at the local level often know
best how to deal with drug problems in their communities. But to
combat this insidious threat, they need good information and the
best resources available. The Supreme Court’s ruling will help
schools meet these needs. This is good news for students, parents,
and teachers. And it is good news for America.
John P.Walters
Director
Office of National Drug Control Policy
D R U G T E S T I N G I N S C H O O L S ii
1 D R U G T E S T I N G I N S C H O O L S
Introduction
Should Schools Test Children For Illegal Drugs?
It is an important question, and ultimately one best left to parents,
teachers, and school administrators. There is no single right
or wrong answer, no “one size fits all” solution. A decision in June
2002 by the U.S. Supreme Court expands the authority of public
schools to test students for drugs. Still, it is up to individual communities
and schools to decide if drugs are a significant threat,
and if testing is an appropriate response.
The question of whether to test students for drugs or alcohol
should never be taken lightly. It involves myriad complex issues
that must be fully understood and carefully weighed before testing
begins. The Office of National Drug Control Policy has put
together What You Need
To Know About Drug
Testing in Schools to shed
light and offer perspective
on this multifaceted
and sometimes controversial
topic. Our aim is
to provide anyone who is
considering a drug-testing program in his or her community with
a broad understanding of the issue and solid, up-to-date information
on which to base a decision.
Included in this booklet are answers to questions that students,
parents, school officials, and other concerned individuals might
have about the process. It explains, generally, what drug testing is
all about, who pays for it, who does the testing, what it tells you
about an individual’s drug use, and, equally important, what it
does not tell you. The booklet describes what services should be in
place for communities to deal effectively with students who test
positive for drugs, and it also offers case histories (pages 3 and 12)
showing how several schools used testing to address their drug
problems. Their experiences may help others determine whether
testing is right for their communities.
It is up to communities and schools to
decide if drugs are a significant threat,
and if testing is an appropriate response.
D R U G T E S T I N G I N S C H O O L S 2
What Did the Court Rule?
In the case of the Board of Education of Independent School
District No. 92 of Pottawatomie
County et al. v. Earls et al., the U.S.
Supreme Court upheld a drug-testing program for students involved
in competitive extracurricular activities. Although the ruling allows
schools to test greater numbers of students for drugs, it is not a blanket
endorsement of drug testing for all students. Before implementing
a drug-testing program, schools should engage legal counsel
familiar with the law regarding student drug testing.
Why Drug-Test Students?
Thanks to advances in medical technology, researchers are now
able to capture pictures of the human brain under the influence
of drugs. As these images clearly show, the pleasurable sensations
produced by some drugs are due to actual physical changes in the
brain. Many of these changes are long-lasting, and some are irreversible.
Scientists have recently discovered that the brain is not
fully developed in early childhood, as was once believed, but is in
fact still growing even in adolescence.
Introducing chemical changes in the
brain through the use of illegal drugs
can therefore have far more serious
adverse effects on adolescents than on
adults.
Even so-called soft drugs can take a heavy toll. Marijuana’s
effects, for example, are not confined to the “high”; the drug can
also cause serious problems with memory and learning, as well as
difficulty in thinking and problem solving. Use of methamphetamine
or Ecstasy (MDMA) may cause long-lasting damage to brain
areas that are critical for thought and memory. In animal studies,
researchers found that four days of exposure to Ecstasy caused
damage that persisted for as long as six or seven years. Kids on
drugs cannot perform as well in school as their drug-free peers of
equal ability. So if testing reduces students’ use of illicit drugs, it
will remove a significant barrier to academic achievement.
Drug Testing: An Overview
If testing can reduce students’
use of illicit drugs, it will
remove a significant barrier
to academic achievement.
D R U G T E S T I N G I N S C H O O L S 3
Case History
A Reward for Staying Clean
Autauga County School System
In rural Autauga County, Alabama, students have a special incentive to
stay off drugs. As part of a voluntary drug-testing program, participating students
who test negative for drugs in random screenings receive discounts
and other perks from scores of area businesses.
Community leaders and school officials, prompted by a growing concern
about the use of drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes among students,
launched the program in 2000 with the help of a local drug-free coalition
called Peers Are Staying Straight (PASS). “Our community was awakening to
the fact that we needed to do something,” says PASS Executive Director
Martha Ellis.
The Independent Decision program began with just the 7th grade but
will expand each year to include all grade levels. In the 2001–2002 school
year, more than half of all 7th and 8th graders at public and private schools
participated.
To enter the program, kids take a urine test for nicotine, cocaine,
amphetamines, opiates, PCP, and marijuana. Those who test negative get a
picture ID that entitles them to special deals at more than 55 participating
restaurants and stores. Students keep the ID as long as they test negative
in twice-yearly random drug tests.
Those who test positive (there have been only three) must relinquish
their cards and any special privileges. The school counselor notifies the parents
and, if appropriate, offers advice about where to find help. At that
point, the matter is strictly in the parents’ hands. If the child tests negative
in a subsequent random test, his or her card is returned. “Our whole purpose,”
says Ellis, “is to reward kids who stay clean and help them see the
benefits of a drug-free lifestyle.”
Surveys taken by PRIDE (the National Parents’ Resource Institute for
Drug Education) before the program began and again in 2002 showed significant
reductions in drug use among Autauga County’s 8th graders: from
35.9 percent to 24.4 percent for nicotine, 39.9 percent to 30 percent for
alcohol, and 18.5 percent to 11.8 percent for marijuana.
For more information about Autauga’s Independent Decision program,
call (334) 358–4900.
D R U G T E S T I N G I N S C H O O L S 4
Substance abuse should be recognized for what it is—a major
health issue—and dealt with accordingly. Like vision and hearing
tests, drug testing can alert parents to potential problems that
continued drug use might cause, such as liver or lung damage,
memory impairment, addiction, overdose, even death. Once the
drug problem has been identified, intervention and then treatment,
if appropriate, can begin.
Testing can also be an effective way to prevent drug use. The
expectation that they may be randomly tested is enough to make
some students stop using drugs—or never start in the first place.
That kind of deterrence has been demonstrated many times
over in the American workplace. Employees in many national
security and safety-sensitive positions—airline pilots, commercial
truck drivers, school bus drivers, to name a few—are subject to
pre-employment and random drug tests to ensure public safety.
Employers who have followed the Federal model have seen a 67-
percent drop in positive drug
tests. Along with significant
declines in absenteeism, accidents,
and healthcare costs,
they’ve also experienced
in worker productivity.
While some students resist the idea of drug testing, many
endorse it. For one thing, it gives them a good excuse to say “no”
to drugs. Peer pressure among young people can be a powerful
and persuasive force. Knowing they may have to submit to a drug
test can help kids overcome the pressure to take drugs by giving
them a convenient “out.” This could serve them well in years to
come: Students represent the workforce of tomorrow, and eventually
many will need to pass a drug test to get a job.