Would You Support Random Drug Testing Of Students At Your Child’s School?

Galesburg-Augusta High School will begin random drug testing of their students this fall.

Students who participate in extracurricular activities or who purchase a parking pass for the Galesburg-Augusta High School parking lot will be eligible to be tested.

The plan is controversial, to say the least.

Would you support random drug testing of students at your child's school?

The addition of random drug tests are being led by Galeburg-Augusta High School's new principal, Kevin Riggs.  Mlive.com has more:

Kevin Riggs, who had been assistant principal at Portage Northern High School, said he anticipated that 10 students chosen at random will be tested each semester.  Those eligible for testing will include any student involved in an extracurricular activity or who purchases a parking pass for the high school parking lot.

"We want to walk before we run," Superintendent Tim Vagts said, adding that the drug-testing this school year will serve as a pilot project with the possibility of expanding it to the entire student body down the road.

"I don't want it to be a gotcha or a punitive thing," Riggs said. "I'm hoping it will be a deterrent. Will it work? I can't answer that question."

I don't believe school districts should force random drug tests on students.

If schools offered the parents of students the opportunity to opt-in or opt-out of testing for their children then at least every parent would have a say.  Districts could also offer tests for parents to take home as another option.