Victory in Washington State Student Drug Testing Case

This from Drug Policy Alliance :-

In an important blow to the White House's efforts to expand student drug testing around the country, the Washington State Supreme Court on Thursday, March 13, 2008, unanimously held that the Wahkiakum School District's student drug testing policy targeting student athletes is unconstitutional and violates students' rights under the Washington State Constitution.

The Drug Policy Alliance was joined by the Washington Education Association (WEA) in contributing to this important decision by filing an amicus curiae (friend-of-the-court) brief  arguing that random student drug testing is unsupported by scientific research, may deter students from participating in extracurricular activities, undermines trust in student-teacher relationships while creating a hostile school environment and may evoke oppositional behavior in students who may try to "beat" the test, among other concerns.

"The Washington State Supreme Court should be praised for making a principled decision based on the State's constitution that random student drug testing is a serious and unwarranted intrusion by the state on the bodies and privacy of students," said Jennifer Kern, Youth Policy Manager at the Drug Policy Alliance. "The decision, while grounded in constitutional principles, is all the stronger for coinciding with good public policy. Random student drug testing is ineffective, unreliable and counterproductive. Such programs waste valuable resources and distract from developing proven interventions that prevent and reduce harmful drug use by students."