Week 6 Discussion – Random Drug Testing & Students’ Privacy

While the Supreme Court has consistently held the position that random drug testing is not an infringement of students’ privacy, there are still some districts that disagree. Just recently (January 2014), the Northern Valley Regional High School District in Demarest, New Jersey, rejected a proposal for random student drug testing. You can read the CBS report at the link below. According to the report, the proposal would only have tested students who took part in extracurricular activities or who had parking permits. Critics claimed that it would only serve to create an atmosphere of “suspicion” based on a survey conducted eight years ago!

Link:   https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/01/27/northern-valley-regional-high-school-district-rejects-drug-testing-plan/

Respond to the following questions:

• Had you been a part of that school board, how would you have voted?
• Based on what we have been reading about students’ expectation of privacy, would you categorize random drug testing as an intrusive search or a more non-intrusive search?
• Is there a difference between testing all students and just those singled out by the Demarest proposal? Are there court cases you can cite to support your opinion?

Your initial responses are due by 11:55 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday and should be between 200-250 words. The initial posting should be a statement of your point of view on the question, supported by the required readings.