Substance Abuse - Important Court Case for Teachers

Opposing view: Safety takes precedence
Educators need wide range of tools to protect students in their care.

By Francisco Negrón

Schools have a responsibility to ensure students are safe. When it comes to preventing drug abuse, educators have to make tough, on-the-spot decisions to stem the distribution of potentially harmful substances. Next week, the Supreme Court will consider whether educators can be held personally liable for money damages for searching the person of a middle school student believed to have unauthorized prescription drugs. At issue in Safford v. Redding is whether the search was reasonable.

The wisdom of zero-tolerance policies is not at issue in the court case, and such policies are up to local communities. Working with their elected school boards and school leaders, communities should decide what strategy works best for them. Schools are some of the safest places for students because school boards have policies to prevent and eliminate the dangers of drug abuse and weapons. The real question is whether educators will be able to use a wide range of tools to ensure the safety of the students in their care. Those tools may sometimes include searches based on reasonable suspicion to look for weapons or drugs.

As the Supreme Court held in Morse v. Frederick in 2007, the danger posed by drugs to our students is "serious and palpable." Indeed, the federal government's Office of National Drug Control Policy reported just last year that prescription-drug abuse among youth is increasing at an alarming rate. And, the accessibility of over-the-counter drugs can have harmful, unintended consequences for impressionable teens and adolescents. At a time of crucial emotional and psychological development, a student can quickly fall prey to the scourge of drug abuse.

Everyone agrees that if there is no threat to students' safety, highly invasive searches are inappropriate. But, that does not mean that when they have a reasonable suspicion, educators should stop looking for harmful drugs simply because they cannot find them in a student's backpack or pockets. The more a student's conduct poses a potential safety threat to herself and others, the greater the need for educators to prevent it — for her sake and the sake of her fellow students.

Francisco Negrón is general counsel to the National School Boards Association and its Council of School Attorneys.
Posted at 12:21 AM/ET, April 17, 2009 in USA TODAY editorial | Permalink

Parents are the Problem?

The below is demonstrable of the lack of drug education on the part of parents.

Some parents view random drug testing as a "punishment" or "lack of trust", when in reality it is a BENEFIT to students, parents,and schools. It you consider that over 20,000 people die annually due to drug overdose, and millions of students regularly abuse prescription drugs (this is the problem NOT mariujana), and illict drugs such as meth & cocaine... combined with the fact that it take 3.5 years for a parent to learn their child abuses drugs...plus, even trained DRE (drug recognition experts fail to identify a drug abuser 90% of the time... and well, you get the terrible picture.

Concerned about random drug testing


Tuesday, June 24, 2008 12:49 PM CDT



I have been following with interest the subject of Bandera ISD's policy of random drug testing at the middle and high schools.

As the mother of four children, I am concerned about my kids' health and safety when they are at school. I, like all parents, desire an educational environment which nurtures, challenges and supports my children.

However, try as I may, I cannot see how random drug testing is compatible with this goal. The only thing I see it doing is punishing both the innocent and the guilty.

As a former high school teacher, I can attest that, in my experience, it is not very difficult to identify a student who is under the influence of drugs.

Why are such Draconian measures now being proposed to do the same thing that an observant teacher could have done without disturbing the learning environment?

I applaud Mr. Zavorka's recent appeal to school board members to truly think about the implications of this policy before adopting it. He certainly gave me pause.
As C.S. Lewis wrote, "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive."

The citizens of Bandera should consider this before supporting the random drug testing of their children.

Schools Infested with Drugs

New Study: Schools Infested with Drugs - August 17, 2007
A New Study from the National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse (CASA) suggests that US Schools are infested with drugs. The survey revealed that at least once a week on their school grounds, 31 percent of high school students (more than four million) and nine percent of middle school students (more than one million) see illegal drugs used, sold, students high and/or drunk. At least weekly, 17 percent of all high and middle school students (4.4 million) personally see classmates high on drugs at school.