Drug testing in schools in the state of Texas is something that has been argued for and against for a good ten years or more. In 2001, the U.S. Court overthrew drug testing in Lockney, Texas. Since then, however, school districts have continually dealt with drug and alcohol issues in regards to students and random drug testing is still in effect in many schools, which honestly? Isn’t a bad thing 

With more and more teens turning to drugs and alcohol due to peer pressure or just because of their own accountability, it is up to someone in authority to make some changes. Normally, that would be the parents, it should be the parents. However, in fairness to some parents, they do not always know what is going on right under their noses. Some because they don’t care, some because they can’t believe it (“not my kid”) and some because they just honestly do not know what to look for.

The security of mandatory drug testing and random drug testing have come together in one place: extracurricular activities. When parents sign permission slips to allow their middle and high school age kids to participate in school activities such as sports, music, school council, theater group and more, they also sign that they give permission for random drug testing. The teen then agrees voluntarily for a random test or if he or she looks to be under some type of substance influence. If you don’t have anything to hide, taking the test should be fine, right?

It is not just athletes being targeted in this. You might be surprised (or not) at the other teens who do drugs as well. The “nerdy” computer kid? Quite possibly. The “geeky” loner? Could be. The class clown? Maybe so. It does not matter what “group” a teen belongs to when it comes to random drug testing. All are expected to take part if they participate in extracurricular activities.

Maybe some parents think of it as a violation of privacy, but really it isn’t. Drugs and alcohol affect everyone around the user, not just the user. It is a safety issue as well. Plus, if a student does test positive in a drug test, he or she isn’t kicked out of school. He is temporarily suspended from the activity and referred to a drug and alcohol treatment program.

. Texas cares about its students, its schools and its extracurricular activities. This is a good way to show kids that we are looking out for their best interests while teaching them accountability.