Articles > Drug Testing - Guilty Until Proven Innocent?

"We have had very positive feedback from parents in Rankin," Carr says. "In fact, we haven't had one negative comment."

Comments from parents at the recent informational meeting in Rankin County were generally positive, though it is important to note that only four parents attended. There were three times as many administrators and teachers at the meeting.

Both parents who spoke at the meeting were supportive. "If my kid is using drugs, this test will let me know. I want to find out as early as I can, so I can get him help before it's too late," one parent said.

Nevertheless, support may not come so easily in Jackson. Even supporters of student drug testing like Jackson entrepreneur Mark McCreery have questions about how it will be implemented. "There needs to be a real punishment for kids who test positive, or we're wasting our time. … I am also bothered that only those students who are involved in extracurricular activities can be tested. Wait until the end of the day, and you'll see Rankin County bragging that only 2 percent of their students test positive when they've only tested the better students anyway. This is a huge flaw in the testing."

Indeed, Rankin County officials recently announced that the first round of tests failed to produce a single positive result.

"We're excited, andIjust hope it continues. Ithink (drug testing) has definitely been a deterrent,"Carr said.

Of course, it may be that the students who were tested were not doing drugs in the first place.

Research cited by Justice Ginsburg in her dissent from the Earls case found that students who participate in extracurricular activities are already unlikely to develop substance abuse problems. Tenth graders who reported spending no time in extracurricular activities were "49 percent more likely to have used drugs than those who spent one to four hours per week in such activities."

A friend of the court briefing opposed to student drug testing, submitted by the American Pediatric Association and the National Education Association, among others, states: "There is … a demonstrated, strong association between student extracurricular involvement and abstinence from drugs. … More important, there is growing recognition that extracurricular involvement plays a role in protecting students from substance abuse. … (Drug testing) is disproportionately likely to discourage `marginal' higher risk students whose attachment to school is weakest, but who are in greatest need of protection." (emphasis in original)

"If the American Pediatric Association is opposed, it ought to raise a red flag with parents," Kern says.

Questions also remain about protecting the privacy of students. Could students who are too shy or modest to hand their urine samples to officials avoid extracurricular activities altogether? Since universities take such activities seriously, would these students then be a disadvantage in gaining admission to higher education? Rankin County has gone to some length to protect the privacy of its students, to the extent that paper will be taped over windows in testing areas, and no unrelated traffic will be allowed. However, even these precautions will not keep results confidential, as there is no way to hide a student's suspension from extracurricular activity.

"High schools are a gossip train. If a student is pulled from class to test and then gets suspended from extracurricular activity, everyone will know. There isn't really confidentiality, just legal cover," Kern adds.

Will suspended students face bias from other students or adults in the school system? Without further research, there is simply no way to know.

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