Persuasive Essay: Drug Testing In Public Schools

Drug Testing in Schools

Drug abuse has always been among students but few measures were taken by school districts to end the growing epidemic. In recent years, the numbers of substance abusers has alarmingly risen, and now drug abuse is a problem that can no longer be ignored by the education system.

Drug testing was first introduced into public schools in the late 1980s and it slowly developed over the next decade. School drug testing sprung from the so-called war on drugs. Prior to the 1980s, citizens were occasionally drug tested by law enforcement officers and when there were grounds for suspicion. Routine drug testing was also performed in both college and pro athletes.

In 1995, the Supreme Court ruled that it was legal for schools to randomly drug test student athletes.

Other states, including the state of Pennsylvania, disagree with this form of suspicionless drug testing and claim that it violates the state constitution.

George H. W. Bush, former President of the United States, established federal funding for drug testing during his presidency once it was deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court. Drug testing occurs in a small percentage of school districts but it continues to grow in popularity due to funding raised by school districts as a result of federal funding ending. According to The Buzz, by 2008, about 16% or 6,000 school districts had adopted some form of a drug testing program.

The goals of Random Student Drug Testing (RSDT) and other drug testing programs is to identify students who have substance abuse problems and to intervene early. Students who have been caught using due to drug testing are sometimes expelled and dismissed from their extracurricular activities. Random drug testing in school districts can be used as a deterrent and give students a motive to resist peer pressure to take