Drug Testing in Schools

One of the best things about America is the rights we as citizens are afforded by our wonderful Constitution. The Bill of Rights basically serves as the center piece of American ideology that has evolved into histories most advanced and successful political ideology known today. The year the Constitution was ratified (1789), serves as a moment in time when everything changed for the better. The divine right of kings became the past, and freedom, equality, and the right to pursue happiness became the present and the future.
The Fourth Amendment reads as follows: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Unfortunately, Bernards Township school officials do not feel as though this amendment applies to their students. As was reported in Sunday’s ledger, school officials in Bernards are considering implementing random drug testing in their school system. Everything about random drug testing is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. Of course, there are activist judges, hell bent on eliminating drugs from our culture. These judges try to circumvent the fourth amendment by creating bogus rulings to allow drug testing to continue. But let’s be honest, random drug testing is a complete invasion of one’s privacy.
In order to prove it, let us begin by breaking down the Fourth Amendment. The first statement is, The right of the people to be secure in their persons. All citizens have a right to be secure in their persons, meaning that citizens have a right to not be searched just for the sake of being searched. Is that not what random drug testing is? Are school officials not just testing kids randomly for the sake of testing them to find some rogue student who may have smoked weed at a party? Obviously, more serious drugs users will be obvious enough to spot. In fact, they may be so obvious that the school may be able to legally invoke a search using probable cause. What a concept! This part of the amendment keeps innocent people from having to take time out of their day, to be pulled aside, brought into a nurse’s office, and forced to urinate into a cup in a authoritative manner.
Next, the language of the Amendment goes on to state this: The right of the people…against unreasonable searches and seizures. To those students that are not using drugs, a random drug test is about as unreasonable of a search and seizure as one could be subjected to. Why should students that are following the rules by going to class, studying, and not using drugs be subjected to such utter nonsense. The burden of drug prevention rests solely on the parents of the children, and the legal system of the United States. It is not the responsibility of innocent students to have to endure unreasonable searches and seizures in order to prevent their peers from using drugs. The school has shifted the burden off their shoulders and onto their student’s shoulders. In Susan Bugman’s article it states that last year 400 students were tested and only 11 students tested positive. That means that 389 unlucky students were pulled out of class and forced to urinate under supervision. They were searched unreasonably without a warrant or probable cause. These 389 students were all drug free yet they were forced to shoulder the burden of drug prevention. Random drug testing is the easy way out for the district. More education about the dangers of drugs would better suit these children. Furthermore, scare tactics such as this only force students with a drug problem to hide their drug addiction rather than seek out help. America’s drug policy has not, and is not working. It is not fair to force these students to give up their rights to help the school district catch 11 culprits who probably just tested positive for marijuana anyway. Although that is purely speculative, marijuana is the only drug that stays in one’s system for an extended period of time.
To delve further into the language of the Fourth Amendment it ends with this: … but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. This means that if a search is to be conducted it must be done under the supervision of the guidelines of the Fourth Amendment. To conduct a search the following conditions must be present: ”probable cause” which is defined as an objective belief that a crime has been committed; “supported by oath or affirmation” which means a legal document must be written stating why a search is to be conducted. This document or affidavit is written under oath and is subject to perjury laws; and finally, “and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized” which means that a search must be particular. Searches just cannot be conducted randomly. The search cannot be conducted and bestowed upon random citizens just because. If random drug testing isn’t a violation of the Fourth Amendment then I don’t know what is.
Now of course if there is a drug problem amongst high school teenagers, then it is the public’s responsibility to address it. However, everything about drug testing is un-American. First, it goes against the most fundamental procedure of our justice system. Defendants are innocent until proven guilty. Drug testing assumes everyone is guilty and forces individuals to prove their innocence. The burden of proof rests upon the prosecution not the defense. If we as a society condone behavior that randomly selects individuals and forces them to prove their innocence then we as a society are condoning the same ideology that forced us to create an America. Sure, the latter examples are extremes, but extremism can be an effective mechanism in highlighting nuances that would otherwise go unnoticed.
While I as in individual have no immediate stake in the issue of drug testing in schools, I find the very idea of school officials thumbing their noses at constitutional protections to be repugnant. Schools are institutions that are funded by the taxpayers. They must adhere to the laws of the land. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. School officials are not above it.
We as a society must act responsibly and use better tactics to keep kids from getting involved with drugs. Testing them is simply not the answer. We need a plan that involves intense and most importantly honest education. Statistics show that strong arm tactics and legal enforcement are much more expensive than education and treatment. I urge the parents of Bernards Township to please tell these school officials that they have no right to drug test these children. These students have rights that must be respected. It is unfair to the children who have never used drugs to have to go through testing. Show these children respect for their rights, respect for the constitution, and respect to them by offering them honest drug education devoid of scare tactics. That is the least you can do for kids. They deserve it.