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Drug testing in schools fine as long as parents, students give OK

   School officials in Gloversville (and elsewhere) should go right ahead and institute a voluntary drug-testing program for students. It can be a good way to help parents and administrators nip a dangerous problem in the bud, and that’s not just for the student’s benefit but the school’s as well.
   As a story in Wednesday’s Gazette detailed, Amsterdam’s school district has maintained a voluntary drug-testing program in its middle school for several years — roughly 25 percent of its students participate — and it was opened to high school students this spring. According to Superintendent Ron Limoncelli, 15 to 20 participants (both students and parents must give prior written consent) are tested quarterly; if a test comes back positive, the student has to seek appropriate treatment within 30 days, or the district can intervene on his or her behalf. School officials pledge, however, to keep the results confidential and under no circumstances to provide them to legal authorities. Furthermore, there are no internal penalties (i.e. no one who flunks is barred from participating on a sports team or other extracurricular activity).
   All in all, it seems like a pretty liberal policy, but one that is not likely to scare people from participating. That’s a good thing, although an argument could be made that anyone testing positive for drugs under these circumstances (voluntary) should at least be barred from participating in sports, since they could be jeopardizing teammates’ health if their own performance is compromised.
   But if the most important objective is getting help for kids who might be experimenting with drugs, Amsterdam’s mostly hands-off approach is probably the right one.
   Gloversville shouldn’t hesitate to adopt a program using Amsterdam’s as a model, nor should any other school district. Drug use is a problem not just in inner-city schools, but in rural and suburban ones, rich or poor.
   The tests aren’t cheap — $25 apiece — but grants are available. And it’s probably easier for parents who might be hard-pressed to administer such drug tests on their own to simply let the schools handle them.  

  
  
  

Here we go....fingerprint and drug testing....then they will all be on the books for a later and make it easier to 'track' for law enforcement.......

fingerprinted at 3years old(just in case of an abduction) and drug tested at 13 years old(just in case their friends are not of the 'kind').......

see my signature...... >

we cant uphold morality and perform responsibly so we put it into someone else's hands???? uniforms and paddling.......