In his State of the Union speech, President Bush said he planned to expand a program that funds drug-testing in America's high schools. He will use $23 million dollars and his effervescent smirk to crack down, fighting yet another battle in the war on drugs.
Though it won't happen, the entire country should fight with him.
In his address, Bush said, "The aim here is not to punish children but to send them this message: 'We love you, and we don't want to lose you.'"
There's nothing wrong with that.
But "surprise," the country is divided. School administrators and legislators agree they need to help their students avoid drugs, but they're not sure how they'll do it.
Still, in all, Paul Houston said in an Associated Press report that not even half of American school districts conduct tests, as some districts need testing worse than others. Houston, the executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, said, "We've got school districts who think it's wonderful and are doing it, and others who think it's terrible." Rightly then, the guidelines devised by Bush and his staff were left vague so school districts could make unique decisions.
At this point, though, high school students know drugs are bad. They do not need to be threatened with a test. They have had health education; they watch television. They understand the decision to use drugs is indisputably subjective.
An argument, then, is that students know better. If Bush wants to institute drug tests into high schools, let him. Tests will only inconvenience guilty students, who will then face the consequences of their illegal behavior. Bush is not trying to run a fascist state; he just doesn't want students to take drugs, which is perfectly reasonable thing for a president to want.
Of course, arguments have already sprung up against his plan: Random drug-testing invades students' privacy. This is a valid concern, though, as is keeping results of the tests confidential.
But Julie Underwood, general counsel for the National School Boards Association, in an Associated Press report said generally, schools do protect student privacy. She said though some other students might found out, many school administrators see that as part of the learning and punishment processes. Tests are conducted because schools want to help students make better decisions.
However, Ethan Nadelmann said he thinks Bush's drug-testing will lead to drug-busting. "They're saying this is to help, not punish," the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance said. "But it always starts with that. And inevitably, the next shoe to drop is: 'We need to punish people in order to help people.'"
Across the country, though, this will not be the case.
In an Associated Press report, Karen Johnson said guilty students most often receive counseling from school advisors and rarely risk suspension or expulsion. She said schools do not haul those students who test positive to jail and don't call the police. Johnson is the director of federal grants in the Nelson County, Ky., school district.
Eventually, some legislators, like John Peterson, R-Pa., want schools to randomly test all students, grades 8-12. And schools should. Those with nothing to hide have nothing to worry about. Those that do need the help they will get, because whether the activity is athletics, academics or community service, drugs don't belong.
Write to Allyn at aswest @bsu.edu
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