High School doing drug testing on mandatory hair samples

[AZRedhawk44]

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/01/30/high-school-to-collect-students-hair-for-mandatory-drug-testing/

I say:  Illegal under equal protection under the law and sexual discrimination.  Women have longer hair.  That is storage of a longer potential history of drug use or drug exposure, than men. 

Add to that, men have a greater cultural acceptability level to head shaving.  You'll see all the kids who might be caught, just shave their heads.  When asked for "other hair" from other parts of their bodies, they can just say that is shaved also.  What are you going to do, search them?

Those two elements together create distinct prosecutorial risk or institutional penalties for women than men.

[Blakenzy]

The school will collect 60 strands of hair from the student

OUCH!

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

except they aren't prosecuting

[Fly320s]

except they aren't prosecuting

Irrelevant.

[BlueStarLizzard]

 Playing Devils Advocate (I'm gonna get so creamed for this  )

I think most of agree that drug testing should be maditory for those reseaving government welfare (which we all pay for) so it would make sense that to reseave government education (which we all pay for) to uphold the same standards.
And since I know one arguement against this will be "welfare is volentary, whereas education is required" I will point out that children are not required to go to public schools, just they have to earn some form of education.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

Irrelevant.

The ACLU, though, believe school drug testing is a waste of time and money.

“Nothing prohibits it,” Doug Bonney, legal director for the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri, told the Star. “But it is a colossal waste of money.”

[Jim147]

This is at a private school back in the area I grew up.

They, the parents, can make their choice about having their children tested.

jim

[dogmush]

This is at a private school back in the area I grew up.

They, the parents, can make their choice about having their children tested.

jim

Yep.

At first i was getting my dander up, but then I Googled the name of the school. Private Jesuit/Catholic school, and keeping the test results confidential. No  .gov involvment at all. They can do as they wish.

[freakazoid]

I don't remember the details but I remember back in high school or middle school they did a drug testing through hair samples on everybody.

[HankB]

I don't remember the details but I remember back in high school or middle school they did a drug testing through hair samples on everybody.

The subject never came up when I was in school . . . and in my high school (a public school) the student body would have simply refused to participate, as we did whenever the powers-that-be tried to overstep their authority.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

teachers and administration tested too?

thin the herd




hair tests are scary
they work

[RevDisk]

I don't remember the details but I remember back in high school or middle school they did a drug testing through hair samples on everybody.

Never occurred in my HS. Wouldn't have been bad, though. "Have a warrant, sir or ma'am? No? I refuse to comply."

Be sure to teach your kids basic legal knowledge.

[Jamisjockey]

This is at a private school back in the area I grew up.

They, the parents, can make their choice about having their children tested.

jim

This.
Right.
Here.

[Fitz]

Private school. Folks don't like it, they can remove their kids.

[Nick1911]

My public highschool required one to sign a voluntary waiver for random drug testing before they would issue you a parking permit.  The logic being, you could always take the bus.

Even though I was totally straight laced, I took some offense to this.  I tried various work arounds, but in the end just decided to forge a parking permit.  And thus, highschool taught me that my principals were more important then arbitrary rules.  A lesson that's served me well.

[RevDisk]

My public highschool required one to sign a voluntary waiver for random drug testing before they would issue you a parking permit.  The logic being, you could always take the bus.

Even though I was totally straight laced, I took some offense to this.  I tried various work arounds, but in the end just decided to forge a parking permit.  And thus, highschool taught me that my principals were more important then arbitrary rules.  A lesson that's served me well.

In fairness, your school DID teach you an important lesson and you arrived at the proper solution.

[HankB]

My public highschool required one to sign a voluntary waiver for random drug testing before they would issue you a parking permit.  The logic being, you could always take the bus . . .

My public high school back in Chicago didn't have a student parking lot - it was strictly on-street parking around the school - so the admins couldn't try to hold this over our heads. The subject never came up at the parochial elementary school I attended - in fact, I don't recall ever even seeing written school rules; it was a case of whatever the nuns said on a given day was the rule. (Same with the "lay teachers" in higher grades.)

[Regolith]

My public highschool required one to sign a voluntary waiver for random drug testing before they would issue you a parking permit.  The logic being, you could always take the bus.

Even though I was totally straight laced, I took some offense to this.  I tried various work arounds, but in the end just decided to forge a parking permit.  And thus, highschool taught me that my principals were more important then arbitrary rules.  A lesson that's served me well.

Err, if it taught you that your principals were more important than arbitrary rules, wouldn't that mean you'd have to follow the arbitrary rules created by your principals? 

[SteveS]

Be sure to teach your kids basic legal knowledge.

Done. My 10 year old knows not to consent to any kind of search.

[roo_ster]

teachers and administration tested too?

thin the herd




hair tests are scary
they work

Heh!

My public highschool required one to sign a voluntary waiver for random drug testing before they would issue you a parking permit.  The logic being, you could always take the bus.

Even though I was totally straight laced, I took some offense to this.  I tried various work arounds, but in the end just decided to forge a parking permit.  And thus, highschool taught me that my principals were more important then arbitrary rules.  A lesson that's served me well.

I will neither confirm nor deny any similar activity on my part in my callow youth.

If you can monkeywrench any foolish or intrusive rule at little or no cost to yourself, do so.

[HankB]

. . . If you can monkeywrench any foolish or intrusive rule at little or no cost to yourself, do so.

I was never particular about observing rules that didn't have the force of law behind them . . . especially in my youth when I was below voting age and had no say in choosing those who made the rules.

I'll just add that "in my day" the first words out of any kid's mouth if interviewed about student drug testing would have been something along the lines of "How about teachers and staff? WHAT ARE THEY HIDING?"