FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jana Kooren, 651.485.5925 or jkooren@aclu-mn.org
ACLU urges Duluth Public Schools to reject ineffective drug testing plan
St. Paul, MN, The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota sent a letter to Duluth Public Schools encouraging them to not begin suspicionless random drug testing of its students. The ACLU-MN believes this would violate the privacy rights guaranteed to students under the Minnesota State Constitution.
"Forcing students to submit their urine to officials is a degrading and invasive practice that treats all students as suspects. This policy will put up barriers between students and staff as opposed to fostering positive, trusting relationships," said Teresa Nelson, Legal Director for the ACLU-MN.
The Duluth Public Schools are considering conducting suspicionless random drug testing for students who participate in co-curricular activities, those who register to park in a high school lot and those who are members of the "Pledge Makers." Those students sign a promise to not use illegal drugs.
Studies have repeatedly shown that random drug testing does not reduce student drug use. The largest national student study conducted by the U.S. government's own program, Monitoring the Future, found in 2002 that random, mandatory drug testing had no impact on students' rates of drug use. This study covered three years and included over 76,000 students nationwide in eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades. These researchers confirmed these findings again in 2003.
"We hope that the Duluth School Board will realize that the violating students' privacy for a program that has been shown to be ineffective is not worth implementing," stated Charles Samuelson, Executive Director.