Random Student Drug Testing in Hillsborough N.J.
On 25 Feb 2008 the Hillsborough School Board approved its proposed
Random Drug Testing Proposal by a vote of 5 to 3.
Voting for the proposal were board members
Neil Hudes, David Lin, David Kanaby, Sterphen Paget and Wofgang Schneider.
A Nightmare on Raider Boulevard
Lets hope this doesn't become more than just another Urban Legend.
A student recalls a feeling that someone had been watching them.
Maybee it was nothing, they chalk it up to being uneasy about an upcomming
critical juncture in their student life.
That night, they awaken from a nightmare in which they have been selected
for random drug testing.
They go back to sleep, worried enough about their next test,
outstanding assignments and competitive extra curricular activities.
They don't do drugs.
Why put something into your body if you don't know the origin?
(You might as well drink from the toilet in the rest-room - if it wasn't
locked.)
Too much information.
The next day at school, they find that their premonition has come true,
and that they actually have been selected.
They get pulled out of class and walk as silently as possible down the hallway.
Like a criminal, they creep past each door hoping that nobody notices them.
They submit to the humiliation of the test hoping
that the test will prove them to be innocent.
But unfortunately, after losing much time worrying,
the test comes back positive
.
How can that be? It is a mistake!
Was it intentional?
Why are they being picked on?
Suddenly their bright future appears to dim.
Too scary!
Budget
Approvals
Voters will be less apt to vote to approve the next school budget
if they see funds being diverted to Random Drug Testing.
Liberty Lovers
will mobilize and turn out to defeat any such budget and any Politicians who
reveal themselves to be overbearing Authoritarians.
Further funds may be diverted to defend
lawsuits
from
students
who falsely test positive,
who feel that they are unfairly being chosen,
or who are being denied extra-curricular activities because their
beliefs demand that they not be tested.
Teacher Strike
Teachers are apt to go out on strike when contract negotiatins fail.
With a plunging economy, and repeated rejections of the School Budget,
the Board has been unable to meet their demands.
Also, the teachers might refuse to accept the
contract provisions
subjecting them
to the same randomized drug testing imposed earlier upon the students.
Lesson Plan
We want our students to learn that they are Citzens not Subjects.
How will teachers explain that students should be tested,
but that
teachers
and township employees are not?
False Positives
False positives are to be expected in drug testing.
These can be due to malicious or negligent errors, or as a result
of
diet, vitamins, medications or peculiar physiology
.
Results from Studies
Results from
studies
reveal that there is
no statistically significant difference in the number of users
at a school that tested for drugs and a similar school that
didn't with
one exception.
In schools that randomly tested students,
12th-graders were more likely to smoke marijuana.
"About Random Drug Testing for Hillsborough N.J." Copyright (c) 2008-1 by Byrne.
"A Nightmare on Raider Boulevard" Copyright (c) 2008-1 by Byrne.
Permission is granted for use of this web-page in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes
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(last update 17 Dec 2022)