Word: extracurriculars
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...Supreme Court agreed on Thursday to decide whether schools may give random drug tests to nearly any student seeking to participate in school-sponsored extracurricular activities. The case calls into question a decision by the Tecumseh Board of Education in Pottawatomie County, Okla., to make compliance with random drug tests a prerequisite for participation in any after-school activity at Tecumseh High School, from the math team to the cheerleading squad...
...Supreme Court agreed on Thursday to decide whether schools may give random drug tests to nearly any student seeking to participate in school-sponsored extracurricular activities. The case calls into question a decision by the Tecumseh Board of Education in Pottawatomie County, Okla., to make compliance with random drug tests a prerequisite for participation in any after-school activity at Tecumseh High School, from the math team to the cheerleading squad...
...case, Earls v. Board of Education, represents the first federal challenge to a drug-testing requirement for students in academic courses. Many extracurricular activities at Tecumseh High School, such as the marching band, choir and academic team, form integral parts of the academic curriculum. A refusal to take the drug test thus means that the student is not able to obtain credit for the course and is excluded from other activities...
...choir suffers from a significant drug problem, or that illegal drugs pose a heightened risk of injury to the singers. Although subsequent decisions by appeals courts have tried to expand this decision, the Court should uphold its previous standard and prevent the blanket use of drug tests in all extracurricular activities...
Furthermore, groundless drug tests would represent a step backward from constructive approaches to the problem of adolescent drug use. A 1995 Department of Health and Human Services study found that participation in extracurricular activities is strongly correlated with decreased drug use. The peak hours for juvenile crime are between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., when many students are released from school and have nowhere to go. If schools are worried about student drug use, they should make efforts to involve more students in extracurricular activities rather than lock them...