School to test for students' weekend drinking

[_BullDog_]

PEQUANNOCK, New Jersey (AP) -- Some teenagers who drink over the weekend could be in big trouble come Monday morning: A New Jersey school district plans to institute random urine tests capable of detecting whether alcohol was consumed up to 80 hours earlier.
Pequannock Township High, with about 800 students, said it will begin administering the tests next Monday.
"This is a major issue for America," School Superintendent Larrie Reynolds said Tuesday. "There are more kids that die each year in alcohol-related traffic deaths than there are soldiers who have died in Iraq. The numbers are staggering."
At least one other New Jersey high school, in Middletown, employs the EtG test, which screens for ethyl glucuronide, a substance produced by the body when it metabolizes alcohol.
Pequannock teenagers who participate in sports or other extracurricular activities, or drive to school, are already tested for illegal drugs, under a 2005 program prompted by the heroin overdose of a student.
Students who test positive for alcohol will not be kicked off teams or barred from extracurricular activities. Instead they will receive counseling and their parents will be notified, Reynolds said.
"That's going to give our kids riding in the back seat of someone's car a very powerful reason to say no," he said.
Drug tests, similarly, can detect drug use that occurred days earlier.
The new test worries civil-liberties advocates and others who oppose school drug testing as an invasion of privacy.
"Medical care and treatment are issues between parents and children," said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.
They also say that common household products such as mouthwash can produce a positive test result. Reynolds said that the test has been recalibrated so that for students to test positive, they would generally have to consume one or two drinks.
The EtG test costs about $20, Reynolds said. The school's overall testing program is funded by a three-year, $120,000 federal grant.
"No one's really taking it seriously. If you want to go to a party, you're still going to go to a party," senior Matt Huber said.

Discuss. Does anyone know if this a public school or a private school?

[IMP]

public or private, it's not the school's business to know the students' activities over the weekend. it's the parents and police. if the parents make their kids do it, fine.

[PK]

"Pequannock Township High" is almost certainly public.

More people die of heart attacks than die each year in Iraq. I suppose that a random test to detect the ingestion of potatoe chips is next.

I have no problem with a graduation requirement that you be educated about alcohol. I'd probably even support some sort of community service where they can see the effects. There is no way I can support a test that will punish you for drinking on your own time.

In most places, this type of rule works right up until it's that star athlete that gets caught in season just before the big game.

[Army, the 3-legged turtle]

Since it's the school's job to teach and parents don't want any part of it, I'm for this.

[_BullDog_]

If it is private then by sending their kids they they are saying 'We want you to test'. The parents are chosing to send their kids to that school. Public, it is a little different for most parents.

[_BullDog_]

Originally Posted by PK

"Pequannock Township High" is almost certainly public.

That's what I was thinking but then expected to hear that someone was sueing over this and didn't.

[Samantha]

Originally Posted by _BullDog_

Discuss. Does anyone know if this a public school or a private school?

"A New Jersey school district" sounds like a public school.

I think it's a great idea, however, if a kid is going to be tested, they should be required to notify the parents and get permission first. I wouldn't want my kid to be required to turn over a urine sample without my consent. That is an invasion of privacy.

[Griffin 1]

Can schools in that state drug test students?

[JAS]

Originally Posted by Samantha

"A New Jersey school district" sounds like a public school.

I think it's a great idea, however, if a kid is going to be tested, they should be required to notify the parents and get permission first. I wouldn't want my kid to be required to turn over a urine sample without my consent. That is an invasion of privacy.

It seemed from the article that they aren't testing everyone, just students that participate in extracurriculars and those that drive. In my HS, we had to sign a contract saying we wouldn't use drugs or alcohol if we wanted to play sports. I think it said they could test you, but I don't know of anyone ever being tested.

[_BullDog_]

Originally Posted by Just Another Student

It seemed from the article that they aren't testing everyone, just students that participate in extracurriculars and those that drive. In my HS, we had to sign a contract saying we wouldn't use drugs or alcohol if we wanted to play sports. I think it said they could test you, but I don't know of anyone ever being tested.

I looked like they already tested those students and will start testing the entire student population.