High school to expand alcohol testing

[Cobra]

This is wrong and a violation of the students privacy. As long as your not drunk on campus it's done of their freakin business.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070130/ap_on_re_us/teen_drinking_2

PEQUANNOCK, N.J. - Some teenagers who drink over the weekend could be in big trouble come Monday morning: A New Jersey school district plans to institute random urine tests capable of detecting whether alcohol was consumed up to 80 hours earlier.

Pequannock Township High, with about 800 students, said it will begin administering the tests next Monday.

"This is a major issue for America," School Superintendent Larrie Reynolds said Tuesday. "There are more kids that die each year in alcohol-related traffic deaths than there are soldiers who have died in Iraq. The numbers are staggering."

At least one other New Jersey high school, in Middletown, employs the EtG test, which screens for ethyl glucuronide, a substance produced by the body when it metabolizes alcohol.

Pequannock teenagers who participate in sports or other extracurricular activities, or drive to school, are already tested for illegal drugs, under a 2005 program prompted by the heroin overdose of a student.

Students who test positive for alcohol will not be kicked off teams or barred from extracurricular activities. Instead they will receive counseling and their parents will be notified, Reynolds said.

"That's going to give our kids riding in the back seat of someone's car a very powerful reason to say no," he said.

Drug tests, similarly, can detect drug use that occurred days earlier.

The new test worries civil-liberties advocates and others who oppose school drug testing as an invasion of privacy.

"Medical care and treatment are issues between parents and children," said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.

They also say that common household products such as mouthwash can produce a positive test result. Reynolds said that the test has been recalibrated so that for students to test positive, they would generally have to consume one or two drinks.

The EtG test costs about $20, Reynolds said. The school's overall testing program is funded by a three-year, $120,000 federal grant.

"No one's really taking it seriously. If you want to go to a party, you're still going to go to a party," senior Matt Huber said.

[lily]

I'm going to have to agree with you on this, Cobra as much as I'd like it to happen, for the saftey of the kids.........but it's none of the school's business what a student does off of school grounds, on their own time.

[Alonzo]

Well, I would have been caught when I was in high school.

[Elrathin]

I agree that the school should have NO grounds for this. If they want to make sure someone isn't drunk AT school, fine. However, what kids do on their off times should not be a concern of the schools unless they bring it IN the schools.

Although it would have been funny when I was in High School for the school to notify my Father that I had been drinking the previous weekend, considering he was the one who gave me the beer LOL.

Another thing that is quite disturbing is this:

The EtG test costs about $20, Reynolds said. The school's overall testing program is funded by a three-year, $120,000 federal grant.

I think that money could be used better elsewhere rather than testing for alcohol or drugs that a student may have used on their offtime.

[Nitrus]

I think its ok on the school premises, but you cant do it outside of the fence, its not right.

[Guitarmitch]

Part of many student codes of conduct include illegal activities off campus. Drinking would constitute an illegal activity.

There is no such thing as privacy issues when you are dealing with minors. 18 year old could be different and that may be the line where you would have to get get consent from the ADULT.

A student with alcohol or drugs IN THEIR SYSTEM on school grounds would be in violation of most school codes of conduct. It really doesnt matter WHEN they ingested it.

Using your logic, a kid could drink before he gets to school, since he is still in off time, and then come to school with alcohol in his/her system. No problem.

Everyone keeps bringing up what a student does in their offtime, but when thier activity is ILLEGAL, it changes the scope.

This is not a college where many of the students are of legal drinking age.

All that being said, there should still be individual parental consent in each case where minors are involved. No parental consent, no test.

[sbannon]

The fact that it's illegal makes it a law enforcement issue though, not the school's. A student may have spent his or her weekend pick-pocketing or boosting cars too, is it the place of the school to investigate that every Monday morning too?

[Guitarmitch]

If they are selling the stuff they stole in school, yes.

Most schools require a code of conduct to be signed or initialed at the beginning of each school year. Alcohol consumption is clearly spelled out as one of the things they cant do. Also included is bringing publicity to a school through their actions or words whether they were on schhool property or not. These are all subject to school discipline regardless of where or when the offense was commited.

Bottom line, if a kid has alcohol in thier system on school time, they are breaking the rules. But as I said earlier, and you typically chose to ignore that part, I said if a parent does not give consent, the school should not be able to perform the tests.

Personally, as a parent, I would give consent. Some wont.

[Elrathin]

If they are selling the stuff they stole in school, yes.

There is the point. If they are bringing the drugs and alcohol to school, then yes I can see the school doing this, but they aren't.

It is not the school's responsibility to be investigating this unless the students are bringing the stuff onto campus. Otherwise, the school should butt out.

Sorry, but this should be out of the jurisdiction of the school to do this and I am 100% against it, unless the students are bringing the stuff onto school grounds. And according to the article, it doesn't look like bringing it the stuff on school grounds is the reasoning behind this.

[Obama08]

I would start to sue the school....or pay to go to another one.
The school is not the government, and therefore has no right to deny you certain rights just because of personal choices you make OUTSIDE of school.
I would sue.
Big time.

[lily]

If they are selling the stuff they stole in school, yes.

Most schools require a code of conduct to be signed or initialed at the beginning of each school year. Alcohol consumption is clearly spelled out as one of the things they cant do. Also included is bringing publicity to a school through their actions or words whether they were on schhool property or not. These are all subject to school discipline regardless of where or when the offense was commited.

Bottom line, if a kid has alcohol in thier system on school time, they are breaking the rules. But as I said earlier, and you typically chose to ignore that part, I said if a parent does not give consent, the school should not be able to perform the tests.

Personally, as a parent, I would give consent. Some wont.



I was going to agree with you, if the parent gives concent......but then I thought back. As a student you have no choice, but to sign the code of conduct. I could also see this flipped around. If the parent doesn't sign the consent form, the child can't attend the school.