Why Schools Shouldn’t Have Random Drug Tests
“Parents are key when it comes to keeping kids off drugs. Good parenting is the best anti-drug we have” is a quote stated by Mel Carnahan. It is not the responsibility of a school to drug test a student but rather it is the decision of a student and their guardian. If a high school were to take the responsibility to drug test every single one of their students and staff, it would result in a calamity. Schools should not have random drug test due to the fact that it would be an invasion of privacy, it would be too expensive, and it would affect a student's education negatively.
Privacy is defined as the state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people. One’s …show more content…
With about 2,000 students and about 100 staff members, a school will need 2,100 drug tests. The cheapest type of drug test is a urinal test, which can range from $28-$42, so the average would be $35 (Any Lab Test Now, 12)8. To drug test every single student and faculty member, the cost would be in excess of $74,000. In order to pay such expenses, schools will have to get rid of extracurricular activities such as athletics, art, and music programs. On top of that, not all drugs do appear on the urinal test and false positives or negatives do occur. An additional $5-$10 would have to be spent to correct the mistakes made while taking the drug test. Also, in order for someone to take a drug test, it is authorized to be in a private bathroom; so school bathroom stalls would not work in these kind of situations in case of someone placing a fake urine sample for someone else 3. In addition, as staff member step out of the classroom to take the drug test themselves, the school will have to fund for a substitute teacher to continue on the class. This results in the school spending over $100,000. To drug test as many people as a high school contains, the expenses will be too high for the school systems, such as South Washington County, to afford …show more content…
Students come to school to learn and teachers come to school to teach. By making every single person take a drug test - with little motivation to do so - the school is treating them as if they are guilty until proven innocent… how is that right?2 Taking the urinal drug test will take about 5-10 minutes on each person 5. This would be time out of a student's education, which is why they attend school in the first place, not to get drug tested. With over 2,000 people taking this test, that will take over a week to get through to everyone during school hours. Since it would take longer than a day, others who don’t go first will have an advantage due to the fact that they will know when the drug testing is happening, and will figure out many possible solutions as to how to pass the test. Another pressing issue is how will students will disabilities be able to take the test? They are included in the school population and should not be excluded due to the fact that the fourteenth amendment states that all men are created equal, so therefore they should be created as an equal too 7. If schools are serious about keeping their students from abusing drugs,one of the best ways to keep kids off drugs is to get them involved in school and extracurricular activities (American Civil Liberties Union, 1). Extracurricular activities can also be an anti-drug, alongside parents 1. Minnesota state laws
“Parents are key when it comes to keeping kids off drugs. Good parenting is the best anti-drug we have” is a quote stated by Mel Carnahan. It is not the responsibility of a school to drug test a student but rather it is the decision of a student and their guardian. If a high school were to take the responsibility to drug test every single one of their students and staff, it would result in a calamity. Schools should not have random drug test due to the fact that it would be an invasion of privacy, it would be too expensive, and it would affect a student's education negatively.
Privacy is defined as the state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people. One’s …show more content…
With about 2,000 students and about 100 staff members, a school will need 2,100 drug tests. The cheapest type of drug test is a urinal test, which can range from $28-$42, so the average would be $35 (Any Lab Test Now, 12)8. To drug test every single student and faculty member, the cost would be in excess of $74,000. In order to pay such expenses, schools will have to get rid of extracurricular activities such as athletics, art, and music programs. On top of that, not all drugs do appear on the urinal test and false positives or negatives do occur. An additional $5-$10 would have to be spent to correct the mistakes made while taking the drug test. Also, in order for someone to take a drug test, it is authorized to be in a private bathroom; so school bathroom stalls would not work in these kind of situations in case of someone placing a fake urine sample for someone else 3. In addition, as staff member step out of the classroom to take the drug test themselves, the school will have to fund for a substitute teacher to continue on the class. This results in the school spending over $100,000. To drug test as many people as a high school contains, the expenses will be too high for the school systems, such as South Washington County, to afford …show more content…
Students come to school to learn and teachers come to school to teach. By making every single person take a drug test - with little motivation to do so - the school is treating them as if they are guilty until proven innocent… how is that right?2 Taking the urinal drug test will take about 5-10 minutes on each person 5. This would be time out of a student's education, which is why they attend school in the first place, not to get drug tested. With over 2,000 people taking this test, that will take over a week to get through to everyone during school hours. Since it would take longer than a day, others who don’t go first will have an advantage due to the fact that they will know when the drug testing is happening, and will figure out many possible solutions as to how to pass the test. Another pressing issue is how will students will disabilities be able to take the test? They are included in the school population and should not be excluded due to the fact that the fourteenth amendment states that all men are created equal, so therefore they should be created as an equal too 7. If schools are serious about keeping their students from abusing drugs,one of the best ways to keep kids off drugs is to get them involved in school and extracurricular activities (American Civil Liberties Union, 1). Extracurricular activities can also be an anti-drug, alongside parents 1. Minnesota state laws