Students Don’t Need More Accusations Con Drug Testing Who Will Decide Who Gets Tested?

Apparently, Constitutional rights are something you grow into.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled as much this week when it decreed high school athletes are subject to random drug tests whether they’re suspected users or not. The ruling clashes with the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches. The difference here is we’re talking about kids.

Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority, unwisely says the intrusive tests are necessary in the nation’s fight against drugs. He says it’s OK to demand kids’ urine; they won’t be embarrassed or feel invaded because school sports are “not for the bashful” anyway.

The ruling is dangerous as well as vague; some say it opens the door to widespread testing of the entire student body, giving school officials power the police don’t even enjoy. Supporters counter it’s a weapon in the war on drugs.

But there are unanswered questions. Who decides who gets tested? Is the winning quarterback exempt? What’s the penalty - suspension from games or expulsion from school? Is there a rehabilitation program?

Eastern Washington and North Idaho school children have already been subject to questionable body and locker searches; who’s to say this ruling won’t give control-hungry administrators the green light in making schools a police state?

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, in her dissent, questions the need for such a drastic step, pointing out “the greatest threats to our constitutional freedoms come in times of crisis.”

Of course schools and communities need tools in stemming drug use among kids. But there are better ways. Improved communication, for starters.

Young adults respond better when they’re treated as responsible people rather than as lawbreakers. A drug test is, by its very nature, an accusation, and teenagers get plenty of those.

Drugs would be less of a lure if America’s youth had education programs, drug counselors in the schools, parents who step up when they see their kids making bad decisions and activities in the community that give them alternatives.

If those things don’t work, there are always drug tests - but only as a last resort and only when the school has ample suspicion on an individual basis that a drug problem exists.

, DataTimes MEMO: See the Pro drug testing editorial under the headline: Schools, parents need to take control

The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = EDITORIAL, COLUMN - From both sides