Broad Drug Testing Adopted in Kansas Town

Middle- and high-school students in El Dorado, Kansas are subject to random drug testing when they attend or take part in any extracurricular activity, from sports to clubs, field trips, driver's education, and school plays, the Associated Press reported Sept. 13.

Even parking a car in school grounds is forbidden unless the student signs a drug-testing consent form. "We see this in the best interest of our students. We don't see this is a punitive measure," said Superintendent Tom Biggs of the new drug-testing policy; Biggs said the school district does not have a drug problem.

At least 425 of 600 high-school students and 215 of 315 middle-school students have signed the forms since the policy went into effect this year, school officials said. "I don't have a problem with it, because I don't do drugs," said Lauren Roedel, 16, who plays on the high-school softball team. But Aurelia Resa, 17, said, "What you do outside of school isn't anybody's business but yours. They should be able to respect your privacy."

The U.S. Supreme Court has approved random testing of students and the Bush administration has provided funds and urged schools to adopt drug testing. But researcher Jennifer Kern of the Drug Policy Alliance said testing is "really a rural and suburban policy issue. Almost no major school districts have implemented random drug-testing programs in major cities and urban areas."

El Dorado school officials don't report positive drug tests to police, and the testing does not affect academics. But parents are notified, and those who test positive can be suspended from extracurricular activities for four months or longer.

Local parent Pam Coley said of the policy: "There probably has been way too much leniency in the, past and things kind of swing one way or the other. El Dorado is a fairly conservative community, and Kansas is, too."