High School Athlete Drug Testing

[formerfcfan]

This topic requires nuance.

The first question is 'why drug test?' Is the goal to punish kids, or try to help them, if they fail a screen? If the goal is to help them, then kicking them out of school because they failed the first screen is counterproductive. How do you expect that kid to grow up and get a college education if their secondary schooling is disrupted?

Second is 'what do you drug test for?' There is a huge umbrella of substances we could test kids for, including tobacco and alcohol. For non-athletes, are we going to kick kids out that threw in a nice cold lip on the weekend (especially if they're of the tobacco purchasing age?) If a kid breaks his arm and is prescribed Percocet, are we going to boot him if that's the only dirty he drops?

If a kid tests positive for THC (marijuana) or LSD but nothing else, then the student code of conduct can adjudicate the punishment and the kid can have a few appointments with the counselor. Opiates, alcohol, cocaine, PCP - those are a different story... those would necessitate counseling, treatment, and possibly therapy.

I'm inclined to believe compulsory drug testing for all athletes will be inefficient: it will cost a lot of money, to test all athletes, just so you know who has put what into their body over the last X weeks (various drugs stay in the system longer than others.) If the goal is to help, then a "one strike" policy isn't going to enable any possibility to actually helping the kid.

[Bighitsinc]

The one and done attitude is absolutely asinine and may be the reason many districts don't have a testing program in place.
These are teenagers who are subject to a real thing called peer pressure. When an adult, you have grown your legs and walk your path. These young adults are still trying to find their way. They will make poor choices but this is our chance to get them back.
The policy , although stern, has to give them a chance to get back where they belong.

[dragonalum]

This topic requires nuance.

You are absolutely right. However, it also takes consistency. IMO, I think the end result of any policy needs to be education.

While these kids are still in junior high/high school, it's the responsibility of the school system to help the parents educate kids about stuff like "why substance abuse is a bad life choice." Not only this, but at this point in their lives if we (the adults in their lives) can help them address issues they may have with substance abuse, maybe they can have a chance to be a success story instead of another statistic.

[LHS 72]

Cost an oral swab cost $12.50 per test and is approved by the FDA and DEA and covers all illegal drugs!. Just think about this one poor choice can result in death of a person All my polices include at least 8-12 hours of education and training and education should start in grade school and continue.

[Ironman92]

Cost an oral swab cost $12.50 per test and is approved by the FDA and DEA and covers all illegal drugs!. Just think about this one poor choice can result in death of a person All my polices include at least 8-12 hours of education and training and education should start in grade school and continue.

Considerably cheaper than the number I heard.

I've lost 4 former students to OD this school year and I teach in a very small district. Not sure testing helps any of that.

Test everyone or no one.

[Flock_92]

Now this what I like to see!! People getting their thoughts together to help our kids! We have got good thoughts coming out. Yes ultimately ALL school personnel, faculty, students, administrators, janitors, bus drivers, etc. should be tested and if a positive test pops up you handle it. You handle it with the students by suspending their extracurriculars until they can pass another test at their expense, you handle school personnel that fail a test with discipline per their union contract if they are a member and charge the union for the test. The non union personnel should have insurance to cover a drug test. There shouldn't be a one strike and you are out, I would prefer to see a three strike policy (lifetime). All students that fail a drug test should have to go through a drug class and have a certificate of completion before being allowed to participate in school functions. It wouldn't hurt to have the kids clean the school grounds as additional consequence.

[come-on-man]

LHS, your correct on the financial side of the test however training the administrator of the program and the folks who will do the testing is a cost the school would absorb as well. Remember this testing must be done with no discrimination, what I mean is athlete or not its the same. As far as the steroid testing goes, this is much more expensive and depending on what you test for could cost a lot to train folks on how to administer the testing . For your typical steroids like test, cest and deca the test would be urinalysis not oral and for the big hitters like HGH it would be blood or hair follicle. Remember this drug testing goes a lot further than just pot & scripts. Is it a good idea, sure. But as we all know it will ultimately fall on the backs of taxpayers to foot the bill in the end.

[Flock_92]

LHS, your correct on the financial side of the test however training the administrator of the program and the folks who will do the testing is a cost the school would absorb as well. Remember this testing must be done with no discrimination, what I mean is athlete or not its the same. As far as the steroid testing goes, this is much more expensive and depending on what you test for could cost a lot to train folks on how to administer the testing . For your typical steroids like test, cest and deca the test would be urinalysis not oral and for the big hitters like HGH it would be blood or hair follicle. Remember this drug testing goes a lot further than just pot & scripts. Is it a good idea, sure. But as we all know it will ultimately fall on the backs of taxpayers to foot the bill in the end.

"Come-on-man" you have some very good info and you are right. I see however that either the taxpayers pay for the testing and drug education now in hopes to deter some of the future drug users or let them ruin their childhood and they pay for them as adults for the rest of their life. Will it deter all of them? Certainly not, but it would be worthwhile to help a few. And who knows it may create some jobs?!

[formerfcfan]

It's important to remember that if we're going to make drug education and diversion a priority of the school system, we need to remember who our audience is.

Ideally, every kid would grow up with a 'stable' home life; the people that are supposed to act as positive influences, e.g. parents/guardians and older siblings, actually act as a positive influence. Expectations and ideals rarely reflect reality, of course.

Drug education programs, like DARE, when I was in school weren't very convincing: 'this is what cocaine and heroin can do to you'; 'don't take prescription pills that aren't yours (they never explained 'why,' though.) I think the most effective way to get the point across as to why drugs are bad, why you must steer clear of them, and why they can alter your future is to talk about and make known the vicious cycle drug usage can have: "get pulled over with a controlled substance on you, you go to jail and lose your license for a while; you lose your job because you have no way to consistently get to work or because you can't go to court and work at the same time... hard to work if you're addicted to hard drugs; get real deep into legal trouble just because of drugs and then you're spending months in jail. Can't see your parents or pets or loved ones when you're locked up an hour away."

[DrugTestCzar]

I joined the forum specifically for this topic. So thank you all first and foremost.

The company I work for performs student drug testing for more than 100 high schools throughout Ohio.

The goal of any student drug testing program is prevention. It gives that student an opportunity to say "no" to drugs. Think about when a program is most beneficial. It is on a Friday or Saturday night, when a student is offered a drug.... all that student has to say is, put that away, you know "I" get tested. That instance right there, could change the students life. With peer pressure today, the student can use the program to say he/she cannot do the drugs because they could get tested.

We hear all of the time "it is the job of the parents to control their children." You are very true, and I agree. However, the truth today is that the coaches, teachers, administrators, and school districts see the children more than their parents do. So essentially it falls back to the school and district to provide as many prevention programs and tools to help each and every student in the best ways they can.

We also hear that all teachers and administrators should be tested as well. And I agree. Usually most school districts we work with have the administrators involved. Bus Drivers are regulated by the DOT so they get tested, and teachers usually take pre-employment tests for their position. If not, then they need to bargain with the union to do so and that is another topic of discussion.

Statistically throughout Ohio about 80-85% of parents are for a student drug testing program. Programs today can usually involve at least 75% of the HS population with mandatory testing programs, and can encompass other students with opt-in and voluntary based programs.

Drug test prices can differ depending on the type- Oral Fluids, Urine, Hair, and each of them have their different benefits. But testing is not expensive and the average cost is around $15 per test.

So what happens if a student does test positive? Again, these are prevention programs, you may not impede a students progress towards graduation. It would be great to say, "you tested positive, then you are out" but this is not a punitive program and zero tolerance policies may work in the "workplace" but these are students, and not adults. So if a student does test positive, Plan A failed, which was that student saying "no" to begin with. Plan B is to get that student into treatment and counseling to get assessed and identify any problems that may be going on. Of course there are penalties for athletes that they may miss games but you are not kicking students off teams, you are wanting them to stay invovled and active and encourage them to fulfill their obligations. Turning them away can cause more harm then good.

I could type a couple of pages but let me know how I can help on this subject. I have been doing it for more than 10 years now.

"It is easier to build strong children then repair broken men" - Frederick Douglass

[noreply66]

Great read

[Abe Froman]

DrugCzar, now that was a good read. I like the fact it gives the "out" or reason to say no to the peer pressure. If everyone knows the tests are done then it helps the student if he gets in a situation. Then that situation/people are known to him/her and can be avoided in the future.

Good stuff.

I can't imagine it would be very hard to get hospitals or clinics or businesses to donate the fifteen bucks.

Thanks for your input.

[dazed&confused]

Pretty heady stuff. I can't imagine all the kids in public school in Appalachia who have parents who struggle with drug abuse. Sure, let's throw those kids under the bus when they don't have a good moral example at hand. We risk losing a generation of kids we are counting on to support the next 40 years of this country. One and out will guarantee we will be a poorer country going forward. But we can't have an open-ended policy that encourages drug dependency. Tough call.

[george]

Cost an oral swab cost $12.50 per test and is approved by the FDA and DEA and covers all illegal drugs!. Just think about this one poor choice can result in death of a person All my polices include at least 8-12 hours of education and training and education should start in grade school and continue.

We used them on construction jobs and if you test positive they would have to send them to a lab for further testing

[LHS 72]

Cost an oral swab cost $12.50 per test and is approved by the FDA and DEA and covers all illegal drugs!. Just think about this one poor choice can result in death of a person All my polices include at least 8-12 hours of education and training and education should start in grade school and continue.

We used them on construction jobs and if you test positive they would have to send them to a lab for further testing

George, That is the proper procedure. We also use hair sampling which is totally fool proof and pee test. Once the results are in what is the next step?

[baseball16]

This will be my last comment on this topic. I truly believe it is not the school's responsibility to implement these procedures. I cannot say enough; it should be the PARENTS and Families that holds these kids accountable. Schools are always looked at to institute policies and procedures for a lot of outside influences. For Example: Schools funding is based on Attendance measurement. Are you kidding me? Why are the parents funding not held for a kid not going to school. Maybe if this happens then attendance for schools would be fine.

Also, an Ohio School had a shooting approx. 2 months ago. The student that did this horrific event was a student athlete that failed a drug test and was kicked off the Wrestling Team. How does a school manage this? Now it's their job to educate on Guns and Gun Control. Really?

Once our society starts taking responsibility and starts holding parents/kids accountable outside of the schools, the School environment will be a better place along with the Communities of these schools.

[Poo Bear]

I dont disagree with any of that , however when a school has adopted a drug testing policy for its student athletes but the staff and faculty isnt subject to the same or a similar policy it loses all credibilty in some peoples mind. Surely we can lead by example, correct?

[george]

Cost an oral swab cost $12.50 per test and is approved by the FDA and DEA and covers all illegal drugs!. Just think about this one poor choice can result in death of a person All my polices include at least 8-12 hours of education and training and education should start in grade school and continue.

We used them on construction jobs and if you test positive they would have to send them to a lab for further testing

George, That is the proper procedure. We also use hair sampling which is totally fool proof and pee test. Once the results are in what is the next step?

In our local If you test positive You have to go to rehab or you don't work for a year though the local . If company you are working for gives you a random and you test positive you are fired no 3 strikes and you are out. Plus most of them puts you on a black list

[Flock_92]

I joined the forum specifically for this topic. So thank you all first and foremost.

The company I work for performs student drug testing for more than 100 high schools throughout Ohio.

The goal of any student drug testing program is prevention. It gives that student an opportunity to say "no" to drugs. Think about when a program is most beneficial. It is on a Friday or Saturday night, when a student is offered a drug.... all that student has to say is, put that away, you know "I" get tested. That instance right there, could change the students life. With peer pressure today, the student can use the program to say he/she cannot do the drugs because they could get tested.

We hear all of the time "it is the job of the parents to control their children." You are very true, and I agree. However, the truth today is that the coaches, teachers, administrators, and school districts see the children more than their parents do. So essentially it falls back to the school and district to provide as many prevention programs and tools to help each and every student in the best ways they can.

We also hear that all teachers and administrators should be tested as well. And I agree. Usually most school districts we work with have the administrators involved. Bus Drivers are regulated by the DOT so they get tested, and teachers usually take pre-employment tests for their position. If not, then they need to bargain with the union to do so and that is another topic of discussion.

Statistically throughout Ohio about 80-85% of parents are for a student drug testing program. Programs today can usually involve at least 75% of the HS population with mandatory testing programs, and can encompass other students with opt-in and voluntary based programs.

Drug test prices can differ depending on the type- Oral Fluids, Urine, Hair, and each of them have their different benefits. But testing is not expensive and the average cost is around $15 per test.

So what happens if a student does test positive? Again, these are prevention programs, you may not impede a students progress towards graduation. It would be great to say, "you tested positive, then you are out" but this is not a punitive program and zero tolerance policies may work in the "workplace" but these are students, and not adults. So if a student does test positive, Plan A failed, which was that student saying "no" to begin with. Plan B is to get that student into treatment and counseling to get assessed and identify any problems that may be going on. Of course there are penalties for athletes that they may miss games but you are not kicking students off teams, you are wanting them to stay invovled and active and encourage them to fulfill their obligations. Turning them away can cause more harm then good.

I could type a couple of pages but let me know how I can help on this subject. I have been doing it for more than 10 years now.

"It is easier to build strong children then repair broken men" - Frederick Douglass

DrugTestCzar,
I love your post. How do schools implement a program like what you are describing? I think that with the drug problem in our Appalachian area a stern drug policy is what is needed to insure our youths future by showing them that there ways to avoid drug use and educating the kids. Would love to hear more of your ideas of how to install, establish and enforce a drug policy in our schools. Thank you.

[Flock_92]

This will be my last comment on this topic. I truly believe it is not the school's responsibility to implement these procedures. I cannot say enough; it should be the PARENTS and Families that holds these kids accountable. Schools are always looked at to institute policies and procedures for a lot of outside influences. For Example: Schools funding is based on Attendance measurement. Are you kidding me? Why are the parents funding not held for a kid not going to school. Maybe if this happens then attendance for schools would be fine.

Also, an Ohio School had a shooting approx. 2 months ago. The student that did this horrific event was a student athlete that failed a drug test and was kicked off the Wrestling Team. How does a school manage this? Now it's their job to educate on Guns and Gun Control. Really?

Once our society starts taking responsibility and starts holding parents/kids accountable outside of the schools, the School environment will be a better place along with the Communities of these schools.

Unfortunately in our area you cant rely on the parents to raise their kids and hold them accountable when the parents themselves are strung out on God knows what. As it was stated in another post, the schools, coaches, teachers, etc. are around the students more than the parents most of the time. So I feel that the schools should take the lead on educating the kids and holding them accountable.