Argumentative Essay: Random Drug Testing In Schools

Schools all over the country are engaging in drug testing on students. This test usually involves a urine sample taken in a closed off bathroom, which is then obtained by an official. It is then tested in a lab, and the results come back to the school in a week if the student has displayed positive. Issues on the topic have arose over infringing on students’ rights and privacy policies. Some say that it can help benefit students to become drug-resistant, while others oppose. Random drug testing is very controversial in schools everywhere. One side of the argument is clearly said: Drug testing infringes and violates the rights of students. “The first large-scale national study on student drug testing found no difference in rates of drug use between schools that have drug testing programs and those that do not.” (Students’ Rights, 2005). Another side to the argument says that drug
Many high schools were tested and recorded as their drug ratios had, in fact, went down from the previous year after using the drug testing program. “The majority of respondents reported that drug abuse had decreased since their RSTD program began, and that the RSTD program did not affect student activity participation levels adversely.” (Addiction, 2009). The schools that had the RSTD, random student drug testing, program also said that their state test scores had went up. The impact of RSTD programs proved significant results as well. “46% of high schools reported increases in student participation in athletic activities, 79% of schools with RSTD achieved scores higher than the state average on the mandated graduation test for grades 10-12, and 58% reported that drug use by students decreased.” (Addiction, 2009.) The supreme court states that they are doing this in order to get drugs out of schools and increase test scores, not violate the rights of the