Random drug tests at work have seemed the norm forever. But how do you feel about random drug testing at school? Also, is there an age that is the right age for testing?
I received a release about $5.8 million in federal grants for such testing programs going to 49 schools in 20 states. It didn't say if Arizona was a benefactor.
The release goes on to say:
"Following two Supreme Court rulings in 1995 and 2002, which upheld the constitutionality of random student drug testing, the U.S. Department of Education has provided more than $40 million to over 140 middle and high schools to develop, implement, and expand random student drug testing programs.
"According to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey, more than 4,000 schools in the United States have a random student drug testing program in place as part of a comprehensive curriculum to deter, prevent, and reduce youth drug and alcohol use in their local school communities.
"Random student drug testing programs test students who volunteer into the drug testing program with their parents’ or guardians’ consent; participate in school athletic programs; or engage in competitive, extracurricular, school-sponsored activities. The programs are community-initiated, strictly confidential and private, treatment-based, and non-punitive."
Arizona Moms Editor Yvette Armendariz shares stories about raising her kids and tips for busy parents in her Time-starved (goddess) Mom blog. She and her husband are raising two children, ages 8 and 11.
Drug testing per se doesn't
Drug testing per se doesn't bother me --- "Nothing to hide, nothing to fear" and all. But I would hope that if schools do this, they test for steroids too because that is an increasing threat to young people.
And I also would prefer at least some of the money go to TARGETED rather than 'random' investigations, because many times it's painfully obvious with whom the drug problems in schools originate. When you know who the 'bad apples' are, you shouldn't waste time combing the entire orchard!
New to AZ --- still working out the kinks!
It seems to me that if
It seems to me that if consent is needed to be in the program than it is not really random. I would suspect that those who volunteer or consent are not the ones who really need to be tested. I do think its appropriate to random test the athletes but I also agree that steroids should be one of the drugs targeted because, again, the kids involved in sports are less likely to be drug users (more alcohol users if anything).
I would like to have the opportunity to make a call to the administrator and ask that my child be tested (if I felt there could be a reason) "randomly". But on the other hand, I don't know if I would get the school involved because of possible repercussions (even if they say there won't be any) and would pay for a test myself.....
The only other thing that bothers me regarding this issue is the fact that all prescription meds the kid is on would have to be given and for some (no matter of how secret or non-disclosed) it could get out and breach the privacy issue.
I wouldn't oppose the idea
I wouldn't oppose the idea of random drug testing. Perhaps if the parent is the only one that needs to "consent"...I'm all for it. As for the targeted vs random thought, I think the random is appropriate. Being someone that was given a stereotype back in school because I was a minority (I am hispanic, and born and raised in US) in a majority white school, I was targeted as a "gang" member since I wore Converse shoes. I was not in a gang, that was just a phase I went through with the Converse.
There is no way to be a perfect mother, but a million ways to be a good one!
The consent comes from the
The consent comes from the parents, not the child. I think it is a good idea. It would give concerned parents a new weapon to combat drug use.
I know parents who drug test their teens at home and it just seems to me that unless you are supervising the kid actually peeing in the cup, there are ways for a desperate teen to provide a different sample. But if it is the school nurse randomly calling kids out of class, that is a bigger hurdle for kids to jump.
I agree that if kids are playing sports, they should be randomly tested for steroids. And don't think that middle school is too early. Twenty-two kids were recently busted at a Tempe middle school for smoking pot on the school fields.
sure, fine, whatever
I think it's a great idea.
I think it's a great idea. And like Miriam said, they need to test for steroids as well.
jesshod is a mommy to 2 girls (ages 6 and 1) and is an arizonamoms.com discussion leader living in Surprise.