Policy recommends testing all students who engage in sports and school club activities, as well as those who park their cars in school lots
The ACLU of Virginia today urged members of the Williamsburg-James City County School Board to reject a proposal from Superintendent Gary Mathews to conduct random drug tests of students who participate in extracurricular activities or use school lots to park their cars. The policy may be the most expansive in Virginia and is likely one of the broadest in the nation.
Research indicates that random drug testing programs are expensive and ineffective, leading most public school systems to find other ways to reduce illegal drug use among students. But in recent years the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed schools to conduct random drug testing of athletes, as well as students who participate in competitive extracurricular activities (and probably any extracurricular activity, competitive or not). No case has gone to the Supreme Court in which students who use school parking facilities must submit to random drug tests.
The Williamsburg-James City County School Board meets tonight at 7 p.m. to discuss the proposed policy, but will not make a final decision until March 7. The proposal comes after nearly a year of research and public meetings, including a town hall meeting last May at which ACLU of Virginia executive director Kent Willis spoke.
“We realize there are legitimate concerns by parents and school officials about drug use by students and that the simple, obvious solution seems to be random drug testing,” said Willis. “But the facts say this is not the way to go. There is no study showing that random drug testing programs are effective, while there is plenty of evidence that they take away what little privacy students still have and divert funds from educational programs that may be more effective.”
“The school board’s job is to get beyond the emotional aspect of this issue and make a well-reasoned decision about how to deal with drugs in school,” added Willis.
In his letter to Williamsburg-James City County School Board Chair Denise Koch, Willis writes: “The ACLU of Virginia recommends that you reject the proposed drug testing program in favor of an aggressive education, identification, and rehabilitation program. We believe that such a program is likely not only to be a more effective means of reducing drug use, but that it can be accomplished while fully protecting every student’s constitutional right to privacy.”
The superintendent admits to having no basis for recommending the drug testing program. His report to the school board states that empirical evidence on the effectiveness of random student drug testing is “insufficient” and “inconclusive,” but he still “believes” it will work. (See report at http://www.wjcc.k12.va.us/)
The ACLU of Virginia letter is available at http://acluva.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/20060207-PRWJCC-Drug-Testing-Policy.pdf.
Contact: Kent Willis, 804/644-8022
