New policy would drug test only volunteers
School board members are halfway to passing a new drug testing policy which would make the participation in the program completely voluntary.
The Warren County School Board, in an unanimous vote, passed on first reading the new proposed policy. The policy will not become effective until after a second reading scheduled for August.
At the heart of the issue is a recent Tennessee Attorney General’s opinion which said requiring students who are participating in extracurricular activities to undergo random drug tests could be in direct contradiction to state law and could be challenged in court. The opinion has prompted the local school board to take action to modify its existing policy to avoid being sued.
The old policy required any student participating in extracurricular school activities to submit to drug testing on a random basis. Under the new policy, random testing will still be conducted, but only on students who volunteer to undergo testing.
‘What will happen is that students who agree to testing will be put into the sample and randomly drawn from the group,’ said Director of Schools Dr. Jerry Hale, noting a consent form will also have to be signed by parents to allow the testing.
While the change may reduce the effectiveness of the drug testing policy, which was meant to deter drug use, school board member Mike Holland said parental involvement could still help the new policy retain its deterrence to drug use.
‘It’s still a deterrent if parents require their children to volunteer under the new policy,’ Holland said.
While modifying the policy, the board agreed it would like to see a modification in the law to make testing stricter. Specifically, Dr. Hale said the Tennessee School Board Association is trying to encourage legislation in the state capitol to allow school systems to again require random testing without having to do it on a voluntary basis.
However, in the meantime, board members admitted there is little else that can be done other than to modify the policy to voluntary participation.