Washington Justices Bar Random Drug Tests of Student Athletes

Constitutional Law

Washington Justices Bar Random Drug Tests of Student Athletes

Posted Mar 14, 2008, 09:13 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

The Washington Supreme Court has ruled the state constitution protects student athletes from random drug tests.

The U.S. Supreme Court has permitted such searches for “special needs,” but the Washington high court said the state constitution offers greater protection than its federal counterpart, the Seattle Times reports. The plurality opinion cited the state constitutional ban on searches “without authority of law.”

"If we were to allow random drug testing here, what prevents school districts from either later drug testing students participating in any extracurricular activities, as federal courts now allow, or testing the entire student population?" Justice Richard Sanders wrote in the plurality opinion. Three of the court’s nine justices joined his opinion, the Associated Press reports.

Justice Barbara Madsen wrote in a concurring opinion that a narrow special needs exception could allow drug tests in some cases, although not in the one before the court. She was joined by three justices. One justice did not participate.

The ACLU of Washington represented students and their parents who challenged the drug-testing policy by the Wahkiakum School District.

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Posted by Sara M. Chico - 6 months, 3 weeks, 16 hours, 12 minutes ago

I understand very well some of the negative aspects of random testing. But at the same time this opinion is against publlic policy of identifying drugs users and providing them help.
Drugs are one of our country’s worst nightmare.

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