Pennsylvania Supreme Court Finds Random Student Drug Testing Unconstitutional
December 11, 2003
On November 20, 2003, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the random, suspicionless drug testing of Delaware Valley School District students participating in extracurricular activities or applying for parking permits. In Theodore v. Delaware Valley School District, the court found that this program violated the privacy protections provided by the Pennsylvania constitution. Justice Ronald D. Castille wrote in the opinion: “The theory apparently is that, even in the absence of any suspicion of drug or alcohol abuse, it is appropriate to single these students out and say, in effect: ‘Choose one: your Pennsylvania constitutional right to privacy or the chess club.’”
In 2002, by a margin of 5 to 4, the U.S. Supreme Court permitted public school districts to drug test students participating in competitive, extracurricular activities, in Pottawatomie v. Earls. In its ruling, however, the court only interpreted federal law. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision highlights the fact that schools also most abide by the often greater protections provided by state constitutions. Furthermore, the Theodore v. Delaware Valley School District decision shows that school districts that implement student drug testing policies may spend years and thousands of taxpayer dollars battling these lawsuits with no guarantee of success. In many states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Washington, lawsuits have been filed against school districts for their drug testing policies.
This decision also reaffirms what respectable research and expert opinion agree on: random student drug testing tarnishes the relationships of trust between teachers and students, violates student privacy, may lead students to use more dangerous drugs, does not address the needs of students who have a substance abuse problem, and wastes a school’s scarce financial resources.
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/12_11_03penna.cfm