W.House pushes more schools to drug-test students

[dogday]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Student athletes, musicians and others who participate in after school activities could increasingly be subject to random drug testing under a program promoted by the Bush administration.

White House officials say drug testing is an effective way to keep students away from harmful substances like marijuana and crystal methamphetamine, and have held seminars across the country to promote the practice to local school officials.

But some parents, educators and school officials call it a heavy-handed, ineffective way to discourage drug use that undermines trust and invades students' privacy.

"Our money should be going toward educating young people, not putting them under these surveillance programs," said Jennifer Kern, a research associate at the Drug Policy Alliance, a non-profit group that has frequently criticized U.S. drug policy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060319/us_nm/drugs_testing_dc

[TAPat]

1. Wonder what kind of drugs the folks in the administration are on? nt

[SammyWinstonJack]

2. The administration should lead by example in that regard.

[MetaTrope]

3. Just think of it as a marketing survey

[Tim4319]

4. If GWB was being tested the time he was in school,

Think he would still be president? Oh, I almost forgot. His dad was once the head of the CIA, and he has alot of rich and powerful people. So I am sure all of his positive tests would have been swept under the rug. Like they are now!

[Fleshdancer]

5. but popping pills is still ok, right?

I really wish this admin would get their priorities straight. When it comes to funding education (which they already have a problem with) can we PLEASE use the funds for actual education?

This is the part that kills me:

Since then, the Bush administration has spent $8 million to help schools pay for drug testing programs. The White House hopes to spend $15 million on drug-testing grants in the next fiscal year.

Roughly 600 school districts now use drug tests out of about 15,000 nationwide, according to officials from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.


Am I reading this right? $8 million spent on 600 districts? At this rate, if we don't decrease the amount spent then we're looking at $200 million to test all 15,000 districts, right? I haven't had my first cup of coffee yet so maybe I've got my math wrong. Sure there's a $15 million grant but where is the rest of the money going to come from? The districts? Is this yet another unfunded education mandate?