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IPFS News Link • Education: Government Schools

Parents Outraged as Public Schools Announce Random Drug Tests for Their Children

• https://thefreethoughtproject.com

While some parents are outraged that the state would be violating the privacy of their children with drug tests, others are embracing it.

Clark County, IN — Many parents are speaking out this week after a school district in Indiana announced that they will start randomly drug testing their children. On top of the invasion of privacy, staff members observing children as the provide the samples is also concerning and this practice is growing across the country.

According to ABC 13, Henryville High School and Borden High School will randomly select ten students each quarter and test them for ten drugs that teenagers are most likely to use.

One concerned parent spoke to ABC 13 to let the school know how he wished the school would've reached out to the parents before deciding to drug test their children.

"There has to be a reasoning, and you have to talk to a parent beforehand," one concerned parent, Lance Leach said. "Like suspicious behavior or they got caught doing something, then maybe, but not just random drug testing."

Other parents, apparently unconcerned with the government doing their jobs for them, support the move.

"They do that in high school, even in middle school. Maybe some of the drugs will be stopped from being brought to school," grandparent Deanna Allen said.

Currently, the program will only target students in extracurricular activities but could be changed to include all students.

The drug tests will also be paid for by the students themselves—funded through a $10 parking pass for students who can drive to school.

Whether or not students will be turned over to police for testing positive remains unclear. However, if students do test positive, the school noted that they will become ineligible for one-third of scheduled extracurricular activities. If they are caught multiple times, they will be ineligible for the rest of their school career.

The state playing the role of parent in this situation is definitely a slippery slope. Making sure kids don't take drugs that can harm them is the job of a parent. Parents relying on the state to do this for them are surrendering their responsibilities and embarking down a dark path


www.universityofreason.com/a/29887/KWADzukm