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Thursday, February 8, 2007
Just Say ‘No, No, No’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fayette County administrators are considering randomly testing high school students involved in extra-curricular activities for drugs — a program that would target roughly two-thirds of all ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th graders.
If the board of education goes forward with the plan, according to my colleague Donna Soper’s story, Fayette would be only the third school system in Georgia to test out drug tests.
The U.S. Supreme Court has backed random checks of student athletes and those who compete in other extra-curricular activities — such as choir, academic team and FFA — as a way to discourage illegal drug use.
Last school year, there were 60 drug-related discipline cases in Fayette schools, up from eight the year before. Some officials hope a random drug test will cut down on those numbers by giving students another excuse for just saying no.
Sure, some kids might think twice about taking a puff of that marijuana cigarette if they’re afraid their names will pop up on the drug test list. But will serious drug abusers really quit partying or will they just quit participating at school?
