The Drug Policy Alliance and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have joined forces to condemn the White House’s crusade to drug test school children, including the president’s proposal during his State of the Union address to allocate $23 million for student drug testing policies. In response to Bush’s call to increase the use of this invasive and expensive practice, the ACLU and the Alliance will distribute a new informational booklet to over 17,000 school officials nationwide. 

The booklet, “Making Sense of Student Drug Testing: Why Educators Are Saying No,” provides the latest scientific research on drug testing, along with the legal implications and responsibilities associated with student drug testing, cost analyses of implementing such policies, and further resources for educators about how to lessen drug abuse among young people. It is the first and only national publication to challenge the White House’s latest aggressive efforts to promote random drug testing in the 95% of schools that currently refuse to implement such a policy.

“Educators should know the whole story here, not just what the president wants them to know for his next election,” said Judy Appel, an attorney with the Alliance. 

President Bush, in his State of the Union address, cited an 11 percent drop in drug use among high school students in the past two years, crediting school drug testing as playing a significant role in this decline. Critics point out, however, that a recent study published in the Journal of School Health in April 2003 – the largest of its kind – shows that drug testing has no effect in reducing illicit drug use among middle and high school students. They also note that 95% of schools do not drug test their students, making it highly unlikely that drug testing played any substantial role in this national trend.  

“That Bush would promote this in his State of the Union address just affirms what we already know about the student drug testing issue: it’s about politics, not the well-being of our school children,” said Graham Boyd, director of the ACLU Drug Policy Litigation Project. “He didn’t mention one penny for hiring new teachers or reducing class sizes, but millions to fund a program that the government’s own research shows to be ineffective.”

Bush’s announcement comes at a time when schools remain under intense financial strain for basic services and supplies. Yet the federal drug czar John Walters continues to travel on his 25-city tour to promote student drug testing as the “silver bullet” to address teenage drug use and announcing federal grant money to implement these policies.

“Drug testing is not the magic solution to our kids’ safety in schools. It does not reduce drug use among students,” Appel added. “If the President wants to address teenage drug use, he should allocate that $23 million to the after-school programs that have been cut, to drug prevention programs, and to full-time substance abuse counselors in schools.”

“We hope that by providing educators with the whole story, they will be able to make informed decisions about drug testing, instead of decisions based on government propaganda,” said Boyd, director of the ACLU Drug Policy Litigation Project. “We have consulted with hundreds of educators, administrators, students, and parents about this issue. The verdict’s in: random drug testing is a bad idea.”

Download “Making Sense of Student Drug Testing: Why Educators are Saying No” 

Additional copies can be ordered from the Alliance.