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Escambia County Schools Moving Closer To Random Student Drug Testing
January 11, 2011
The Escambia County School Board will hold a public hearing next month as they continue to consider random student drug testing for the next school year. The public hearing, pending approval from the board at their January meeting, will be scheduled for February 15 at 5:30 at the J.E. Hall Center at 30 East Texar Drive.
Under the proposed policy first presented to the school board in December, students that participate in athletics, extracurricular activities or park on campus would be subject to the random urine tests. A signed parental consent form would be valid during the entire school year, not just for the duration of the athletic season or extracurricular activity period.
Students whose parents do not consent to the tests would not be allowed to participate in the activities — including any practice, tryout, rehearsal or even sit with the team, club or organization at a game or pep rally.
The drug tests will be conducted by the school health nurse or technician under the plan. If there is a positive result, the student would be required to take a follow-up drug test at a District-approved licensed laboratory within 24 hours. Failure to take the follow-up test would be considered a positive result, according to the proposed plan.
If a student refuses to participate in a random drug test, it will be considered a positive result.
A positive result would result in the student being removed from all extracurricular and athletic activities, including practices, for at least 30 days and would be suspended from driving on the school campus. The student would be referred to a District-approved drug assessment and rehabilitation program.
A student with a positive drug test result would be required to pass a second drug test before participation in future activities at the expense of their parents. They would be subject to additional random drug tests, and they would remain on probation for the rest of their school years in the Escambia County School District. The student would not be allowed to return to any leadership position — such as captain of a squad, club officer or class officer — for the remainder of the school year.
A second positive result would prohibit a student from participation in all athletics and extracurricular activities and from driving on campus for one full calendar year.
Before the random drug testing plan is implemented for the 2011-2012 school year, it must first be approved by the Escambia County School Board. That approval can come anytime after the February 15 public hearing.
Comments
45 Responses to “Escambia County Schools Moving Closer To Random Student Drug Testing”
Why?
ALL STUDENTS SHOULD BE TESTED!! DON’T SINGE OUT!!
The idea is that the government requires them to attend school.
If they required everyone attending school to be drug tested, then the government could be forcing everybody to be drug tested.
It seems a bit invasive and involves search without purpose or probable cause.
If you say, “You may do this but at the cost of submitting to drug testing,” then you gave them a choice. I made that choice and they are free to test me at any time (although they have to pay me for my time), but until they make that choice, they haven’t given up their rights.
David for being paid to urinate
Why should the kids who do not partcipate in anything at school except for showing up get away with doing drugs?
Let the resource officer be present when the test are being preformed in the general area and have them make sure it goes through the proper chain of custody. Kids on drugs should not get the scholarships, it should be the ones that study and take responsibility for behaving that should get them. Why reward some kid for acting up maybe even putting others lives in danger for a high, get real when they step into the drug scene all rewards should be thrown out the window. Get real “we need more info” be the adult here not the child.
Wow its about time. They should of done this alone time ago. If they particaipate in any activities or drive to school they (student) should have to take a drug test before the activity starts. The parents should pay for the 1st one, if they pass then the next one is on the district, but if they fail the parents should continue to pay for them. There needs to be some if not all of the responsiblity on the parent, alot of them are tring to be the kids friends not parents. Parents STEP UP and take care of your kids.
Can you imagine the lawsuit oportunities this provides. Just imagine little Jonny pops positive. Mom and Dad take junior for independent testing, thier test results are negative, parents request chain of custody paperwork for original school test, school makes mistake, can’t find paperwork…..
Meanwhile little Jonny’s record has been tarnished, he misses an opportunity at a scholarship because info is leaked to media, his record is tarnished, mom and dad sue, county settles to keep it out of court and little Jonny’s college is paid for and more…..
Not a good idea in my opinion.
Oversight
I really don’t think they should test anyone (was being sacrastic). I do not think they should single out the athletes, or extracurricular activties, or car students. If they are are going to test then they should test all students. Bus kids will do drugs just as likely as car kids. If they test teachers then they should also test supervisors and school board memebers and the superentindent. What is good for one is good for all.
forjustice…. “and also to Oversight: you can definitely hide a pregnancy if you have an abortion! and there are kids who do. try to look from every angle….”
My last comment on this topic: Ok, but abortion is not illegal, even for minors which makes your point moot; however, drugs are which is the point of the school board considering testing students.
forjustice… Point taken on Chapter 800 and I agree with you that you’ll not get your underage (both under 16) conviction which is the point I was making. It may be on the books, but when it is not prosecuted, the law is usless. Now change those ages by a few years, and I’ll show you some folks sitting in prison for that.
and also to Oversight: you can definitely hide a pregnancy if you have an abortion! and there are kids who do. try to look from every angle….
to Oversight:
Under Title XLVI Chapter 800 Lewd or Lascivious offenses :
Florida Law states that NOONE can consent to ANY sex act if they are under the age of 16. If two people who are both under the age of 16 engage in sexual relations, they are both guilty of lewd or lascivious battery and both can be criminally charged. Most of the time neither is but it is up to the State Attorney’s office in that jurisdiction.
The school board is taking away activities for the kids with their budget cuts. And to pour salt in the wound they want to spend the money on something as dumb as this. Makes you wonder how smart those people are. To top it off they are going to test the ones that probably aren’t using drugs to start with. The ones they need to test keep on doing what they want and not have to woory about it.
In my experience and observation, it is not the students that participate in a school’s extracurricular activities that are the problem – it’s the ones that participate in illegal extracurricular activity. A law enforcement and social welfare problem that already has resources and staff.
Let me be clear – drugs and children do not mix. The problem lies with identifying the drug abusers in society, and getting them the assistance they need and holding them accountable for their actions.
I am troubled by the intrusive nature of this action and it’s limit to only the students that usually excel. Why not all staff and students? Or none. Or only cases that are clearly a security issue – like an intoxicated child (which should involve Law Enforcement and Child and Family Services).
I have a concern about the additional costs born by me the Taxpayer for what is, on its face an already ineffective, and hamstringed effort rght from the start. Either test everyone, or no one – it works for the military, and other employers. Frankly, I say none.
If this is undertaken then who pays the bill? The parents should. This shouldn’t be out of the school district’s budget, and this shouldn’t be taken out of the school’s scheduled class time (a hidden cost?).
Who pays for treatment? The parents should. Let the schools teach. Let parents be parents, and hold them and their children responsible for their actions if they choose drug abuse.
I am unconvinced that this idea as it stands does any real good at this point in time.
forjustice… You can’t very well hide a pregnancy, can you? So giving eveyone a pregnancy test is sort of usless. By the way, what law is two underage or teens having sex covered under which makes it illegal?
Fairlane63… Was Ben Franklin a doper?
As for live and let live.
Sure we can do that. Then when they can’t get a job we can support them
on welfare programs or they will fake workers comp from someplace they
worked for two days, OR EVEN BETTER they will rob YOU TO SUPPORT
THEIR LAZY DRUG ADDICTED BUTTS.
Everyone who walks into our schools should be drug tested.
I don’t mind spending the money or having the kids and teachers and
everyone else checked.
Kids die every day from DRUGS. Mothers and Fathers die every day from
DRUGS. Grandparents die every day from DRUGS. If their not on them,
they are killed by the people who are. I am certainly not for more govenment
in our lives, but until every single man woman and child in this country is
free from being in the middle of this DRUG WAR I’m for spending everything
we have to to clean it up and make this a safe country for citizens again.
Anyone who doesn’t think this is necessary must certainly be afraid that
that their little kids will be caught or their afraid their going to tell on mom and
dad. If it’s just about money then most of you must be so tight you squeak.
Do you also not drink, smoke and watch cable T.V. or is it just the safety
of people in town your so afraid you might have to support?
Just asking?
to Bobby M
Not an invasion of privacy? Well, how about we just go ahead and test everyone for pregnancy too?! Underage sex is illegal, right? Do you not think that would be taking it too far? “Ms. Suzy, I suspect you are sexually active. You are subject to a pregnancy test.” Go ahead and say it’s not the same….IT IS! I say leave everyone the heck alone and let them live their lives! (what little the government will allow them to have) Later, when they secure/try to secure a job, they will, more than likely, be subject to randoms. If they fail, they don’t work, they don’t make $….you get my drift…actions/consequences.
LIVE AND LET LIVE!
There are sure a lot of “conservatives” here who support more government intrusion into people’s lives. I guess the government can do whatever it likes and people will go along as long as it’s ostensibly for safety.
Ben Franklin would not be proud…
Alright Dixie Chick, go ahead and test them all; I don’t have a problem with mandatory drug testing. According to law, citizens have a right to a free public education in our country, but with that there should be some measure of accountability to those (us taxpayers) who pay for it and remaining drug free is a good place to start.
test the faculty too, administration and teachers alike. it is only fair. and why stop at the individual school level,,,lets random drug test everyone that works for escambia school district starting with the superintendent or is that to demeaning/embarrassing for those folks?
What privacy does this violate? No one has the right to use illegal drugs without recourse, regardless if you are in the privacy of your own home. “High” schoolers if you have a script for your weed tell the dean prior to any testing. As for adults, make it legal let us decide if we like it or not. Then it would violate your privacy to test for it at work.
i think that this plan demonstrates a very hard line, “tough love” concept…personally, i like that aspect…however, i do believe that a financial breakdown of the potential cost to implement the plan should be made public…i would think that the school board would secure a contract w/a testing facility (lab) to get the price lower than the $150 amount (per test) that someone has mentioned….(counseling, as well) in order to get public support for this plan, w/the economy such as it is, its only prudent to give the taxpayers an informed aspect of the proposed cost for this to even be implemented
despite the many comments/demands that ive read for this newly proposed plan to include teachers and faculty in the random drug testing, i notice that there is no mention of it in this, or previous articles (could be that i missed it)…my thought: the NEA (teachers UNION) would pitch a fit and thats why its not even mentioned or apparently being considered.
Oversight,
They should test anyone who comes on campus. There are many students who do not drive a car, participate in sports or extracurricular activities!
Young people today have a different view of things than those in the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s 50’s. It was Boose during tthat time.
60’s, 70’s, 80’s it’s Weed, Herion, Pills. 90’s, 2000 it Crack, Coke, what ever they find to get high.
Let’s take the Pourchegees approach: Any body who want to use drugs, go right ahead, we’re not wasting our money on Treatment, Programs, Rehab. If that’s what you want go right ahead. There country has seen a Increase in there Buget, Monies to benefit their Citizens, Law Enforcement don’t waste time locking up people over and over, Judges are not overloaded, Jails not over loaded, the list goes on and on. Leave them alone.
For the most part, it’s not the students involved in band, sports, etc, that they need to worry about. Those kids are staying too busy with good stuff to get into bad stuff. My kid (soon to start work on their Master’s degree) fell asleep many a night with a school book in hand. It’s not those kids you need to worry about. It’s the loners that are not involved in anything. Test the ones standing at the bus stops smoking that don’t care who sees them. And yes, test the ones on assistance. Test their parents/guardians too!
Here we go spending all our time and money on crap, lets focus on geting the kids an education . First cost, at least 150 a test, missed school, and then a retest. I believe if we are to spend taxpayers money we should start with the welfare recipients, we are subject to random testing where I work so not only do I have to work for my paycheck (what a concept) I have to stay drug free to support them.
Here we go again with more Government intervention. Like others have said, “who will pay for this?” The tax payers that who. It makes me sick that whenever you mention making those on welfare take a drug test the liberal left go nuts over it. My tax money goes to support the school system and the welfare system. So I say if it’s ok to test students then it should be ok to test those on assistance.
I say all parents refuse to sign the release form and lets see if the School Board will shut down the sports and band like they are threatening to do. Don’t bow down to pressure and threats. It’s our tax money that pays their salaries so we should have the final say so on what they do with it……….
aam, If you think about it eventually a random drug test could be given to every student under these guidelines. There is the possibility that at some point if you drive to school you’ll get tested.
To art, I don’t see a random drug test as “subjected to this type of demeaning behavior.” The demeaning behavior would be the participation in the activity of illegal drugs!
Many of you people are taking random drug testing as a negative, think of it as a positive. If your child is doing something that he is hiding from you, and you are too oblivious to notice he/she will get caught and he/she will get help. Isn’t that what we want our children to be healthy and not users or addicts?
If there is a question that a student may be on drug, then let the school inform the parent and the parent get the drug testing done. The student can not participate in any activities until they have a written note from the student’s doctor. Let the parents be in control of the situation not the public school. If the parent’s complain of the expense, they just need to hush. Their children are getting a FREE education. Homeschoolers have to pay every penny for their education. More taxes!! When a kid is caught being on drugs, he should be “kicked out”, PERIOD…
Randomly testing students and/or teachers will not stop drug abuse. Have you been to a “head” shop lately? There’s pills, liquids and paraphernalia to assist in passing ANY drug test and most of them work quite well.
Kids that play sports (for the most part) are acutely aware of how drugs and alcohol negatively effect their bodies. Those are not the children smoking weed or getting obliterated on alcohol on the weekends.
The kids (again, for the most part) doing drugs and causing the drop out rates are the kids that aren’t active in extra curricular activities.
Teachers being tested won’t stop them from coming to work hungover, smoking weed on vacation or doing God knows what else before standing in front of our children and being “role models”. There are ways to get around every single drug test, ask any 19 year old delivery driver at your local Domino’s Pizza.
The way to get kids off drugs and KEEP them off drugs is simple: BE A RESPONSIBLE PARENT.
Know your child’s friends, know your child’s location, know your child’s mental state, know your child’s academic performance. Stop trying to be the “cool parent” who wants all the kids to love them. Stop thinking you are your child’s best friend and start being their parent. That’s what your role should be until the child is an adult. Then there’s plenty of time to be their friend.
I also think this is a bad idea…teachers, however, SHOULD be randomly tested, for they are EMPLOYED. Most businesses require randoms, this should not exclude the school board.
Randomly testing students is such an invasion of privacy. The government has so much control over our personal lives now, it seems we barely have any freedom at all.
I say no to randoms for students.
This is just a way for the schools to get more funding. They will only do the minimal required testing the state or government requires and the rest of the funding will be used for something else. That’s how this works.
sounds like a lot of you are worried about the test…..if my child were in school, i certainly wouldn’t object. kids are drinking very young now days, and a lot of parents don’t think their kids are…how do you know for certain other things aren’t going on. You should be grateful not only for the testing of your child, but for the testing of others who may be selling to others. Go read the jail logs in your area, look at the ages and where they are from (addresses), you would be shocked at not only where they live, but at some of the names…….it’s out there people, be grateful that the state is willing to pay for the testing. If you think your little angel isn’t involved, keep pulling the wool over your eyes, look at the families that just KNEW their kids weren’t doing. WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am as much against drugs as any other conservative person and beleive that if you get caught with them, you should go to prison…no exceptions. BUT, I don’t think that it is ok for the school system to drug test students. This allows the government to have too much involvement in our lives. Are the kids then going to be punished or are we going to label them as an addict when the odds are that they are not one and then send them to therapy on the tax payer dollar. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!! Maybe we should put an identifying mark on their forehead or hand as well.
What a crock! Who is going to pay for the kids who test positive and have to go to a lab to get retested? Who is going to pay for the drug rehab? Who is paying for the drug testing kits? THE PARENTS WILL PAY.
I would make the school district roll out those buses if I had a child that drove to school.
They could kiss their football and basketball teams goodbye if no parent signed to have their kid tested.
What if your kid just happened to make a bad decision on the weekend and maybe tried a drug once in their life, then got drug tested on monday at school. That student WILL BE A TARGET FROM THEN ON.
This is such an invasion on your privacy and rights. They sell those tests at drugstores if I felt the need to test my child.
every day money is taken out of our school’s,school’s being shut down, can’t pay for equipment,teacher’s pay is a joke. Look at all the closed schools in just this county,who and how is this going to be payed for? William maybe you could tell us if there is any other school or schools that practice this , and if so how do they pay for it.
Drug testing students just spends more money we don’t have, What will you do with the ones that fail? How much will it cost to re-hab those? how much for the drug test? How much for the lawyers , who inevitabley will be involved in a law suit here that once again draws negative attention to this area? The teachers on the other hand are employed by the tax payers, they have an insurance plan they are recipients of our tax dollars, They should be already being tested through out the year randomly. But they aren’t, we would lose probably around 40% of our teaching staff if they were checked for drugs and alchohol first thing in the morning. We pay them so little, pay them well, expect the best, and drug test them. Leave the students alone, rule by example in the class room. We have a system in place already for students who appear to have a problem, Children and Families, use it.
I think they should be random during the year and mandatory for the tryouts for all school activities…sports, band, chorus, FFA etc…any club or activity affiliated with the school. Being part or extracurricular activities is privilege not a right…Students might as well get ready for the real world. If they want a job or go into the military, after the interview you are handed a slip for a urine tests.
To “aam”
Re-read the article because it states, “… students [who] participate in athletics, extracurricular activities or park on campus would be subject to the random urine tests.” That covers much more than just athletes.
give the drug test to the staff also not just to the kid that wear his pant down low i guess they call it swagging?
I like the idea of drug test, but they should be given by random to all students not just the athletes. I think it is wrong to single out any group. To me it is the same as saying ok lets test all of the white students, or lets test all of the left handed students. Try that and see what an uproar looks like.
what about random drug testing for the teachers and faculty, that is only fair! my kids could tell you plenty of stories about teachers coming to work slightly less than “all there”. so glad they have graduated and they wont be subjected to this type of demeaning behavior, (if it passes).