Many families are now more than ever involved in activities close to home. As travel gets more expensive, families are choosing to go on staycations instead of going on distant vacations. A staycation is a vacation at home or within a short drive. Staycations are popular when the economy is doing poorly and the gas prices are high since they're relatively inexpensive. Some of the most common activities for children are athletic activities through their school, including football, baseball and soccer.

Frequently, schools are now requiring mandatory drug testing for athletes. Many people believe that these tests are intrusive and violate the child's right to privacy under the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution. Others believe that the testing is worth the time and effort to help prevent illegal drug use.

Drug Use by Children

Many people believe that illegal drug use among children has gotten out of hand. To stop the trend, schools have started mandatory drug testing of students involved in athletics. Some have even expanded the testing to other competitive extracurricular activities. Schools hope that preventing drug use among the more active students will trickle down to the non-active students.

Schools test for a variety of different substances. Usually the substances include illegal drugs and alcohol. Some schools also test for steroids. Since use of steroid use in professional sports has risen, schools are attempting to prevent student-athletes from getting involved.

Not every school wants to have mandatory drug testing. Many people complain that random drug testing shouldn't be used. Some of their reasons include:

  • Drug testing doesn't reduce drug use
  • The cost of testing is too high
  • The testing violates the children's privacy rights

Right to Mandatory Drug Testing Policy

Courts have ruled that schools are entitled to have mandatory drug testing policies for athletes. The main reasons are:

  • The state has an interest in preventing drug addiction
  • Student-athletes have a decreased expectation of privacy
  • Student-athletes are at risk for physical harm if practicing sports while intoxicated

Schools don't have to have a suspicion of drug use to test athletes. They can conduct random drug tests without suspicion.

Some courts have also upheld suspicionless drug testing for other extracurricular activities that don't involve athletics. However, other courts have ruled that these non-athletic extracurricular activities must be competitive or the testing is not necessary. Most courts have ruled that mandatory drug testing of all students without suspicion does violate privacy rights.

Federally Funded Drug Testing Programs

Schools can receive federal grants to implement drug testing programs. These programs are meant to deter student drug use. The federal funds can only be used to test:

  • Students who participate in athletics
  • Students who participate in competitive, extracurricular school-sponsored activities
  • Students who volunteer to be tested

The federal funds can't be used to test students that are involved in activities that aren't competitive. The students must compete against students in another school district.

Questions for Your Attorney

  • Can my son's school force him to take random drug tests without suspicion if he wants to play soccer?
  • Is the school violating my daughter's privacy rights if it conducts random drug tests for any student that joins a non-competitive school club?
  • What should I do if I believe that a school is violating privacy rights by conducting mandatory drug tests for all students, even those not involved in extracurricular activities?