White House Campaigns On Schools Drug Testing
John Walters, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, discussed random school drug testing before more than 100 Indianapolis and regional education officials.
The IndyStar has reported on Walters’ comments during the meeting:
He said about 1,000 U.S. school districts have random drug testing policies. About 500 of those programs, including two in Indiana, are funded with federal grants.
The legality of random tests has been upheld by the Indiana and U.S. Supreme courts as long as the tests are not punitive.
Walters said the Bush administration has expanded its 2009 funding request for random student drug testing programs to $12 million, up from $10.8 million in 2008.
The biggest obstacle to starting drug-testing programs is overcoming the denial among parents, school officials and students, Walters said. While student use of illegal drugs has declined by 24 percent since 2001, Walters said national research shows more than half of high school students have used an illegal drug.
“We have to find a way to help people face what they don’t want to face,” he said.
Walters said research shows that random testing works.
A 2003 survey by Joseph R. McKinney, a professor at Ball State University and Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, determined that “random drug testing policies are effective in reducing the temptation to use drugs and alcohol.”
The DaytaTree Team