Mandatory drug testing for student athletes

Constitutional issues regarding mandatory drug testing for student athletes were explored by the Supreme Court in Vernonia Sch. Dist. 47J v. Acton (1995). The defendant was a school system in Vernonia, Oregon, a small town about 35 miles northwest of Portland. The school set up a random drug testing program for its student athletes in 1989, motivated by what it described as a drug culture out of control: "Staff members' direct observations of students using drugs led the administration to the conclusion that the rebellion was being fueled by alcohol and drug abuse as well as by the students' misperceptions about the drug culture" (Zirkel, 1995, p. 187). Notable among the students participating in drug use were student athletes.

Prior to instigating the drug testing program, the Vernonia school district tried numerous other remedies. The district invited speakers to counsel students on the dangers of drugs. Special drug abuse classes were developed to educate students. A specially trained sniffer dog was brought in to detect illegal drugs. Despite these efforts the drug problems in the district multiplied. School administrators then considered a broad program of random urinalysis for the entire student body but narrowed th

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ivacy expectations. Thus the Court ruled in Skinner v. National Railway Labor Executives Ass'n (1989) that drug testing of such employees was reasonable. The legitimacy of warrantless searches of school students was established in New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985) a case that involved the search of a student's purse triggered by tobacco smoke in the school bathroom. In Vernonia, Justice Scalia reasoned that the deterrence of drug use by student athletes is a legitimate state interest. The Court had real concerns about school safety, particularly in school districts with known drug problems. Thus the primary objective of the student drug testing is to preserve safety in schools that are threatened by drug abuse. The Court also pointed to the added risk of drug use for student athletes and their responsibility as role models. The perception of student athletes as role models has been clearly established in American society. As Keating (1995) notes, the athlete is expected to exhibit certain moral characteristics: "Truthfulness, courage, spartan endurance, self-control, self-respect, scorn of luxury, consideration for another's opinions and rights, courtesy, fairness, magnanimity, a high sense of honor, co-operation, generosity"
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Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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