DATIA Submits
Testimony In Support of
Student Drug Testing
DATIA recently submitted testimony to Congress in
support of drug-free school legislation. DATIA is
supportive of any measure by Congress that targets
schools in an effort to curb drug use by children and
strongly believes that drug-testing is an important
component of any legislation.
DATIA submitted testimony in response to a hearing
by the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth,
and Families which is part of the Committee on
Education and the Workforce. This Committee is
responsible for considering most legislation that
affects school drug testing programs.
At a hearing on August 3, 1999, General Barry R.
McCaffrey, Director, Office of National Drug Control
Policy, testified about the importance of building
"more effective Safe and Drug Free Schools and
Communities Programs." He spoke about the importance
of school-based prevention programs and the need for
more schools to adopt them.
In addition to McCaffrey's testimony, five
panelists responsible for implementing drug free
school programs also testified in support of increased
congressional activity and funding for such programs.
In fact, Ms. Alyse Booth, Director of Communications,
National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
(CASA) in New York, NY testified that "At schools,
teens, teachers and principles believe by whopping
majorities that locker searches, drug testing of all
students, a police presence and a zero tolerance
policy are effective anti-drug measures."
This committee may also consider two bills that
have been introduced in the House that create grant
programs to fund school drug testing programs.
The first bill, Empowering Parents to Fight Drugs
Act of 1999 (HR 1735), is sponsored by Congressman
John Peterson (R-PA). This legislation will provide
federal matching grants for local school districts to
implement random drug testing for students enrolled in
grades 7-12. Parents may exclude their children from
the random testing program. Each local education
agency would have contracting authority with outside
sources for implementing drug testing to get rid of
this.
The second bill, Parental Consent Drug Testing and
Counseling Act (HR 1642) sponsored by Congressman
James Rogan (R-CA), would establish a random drug
testing program for high school students. This bill
differs from Peterson's bill because the program only
tests students at the parents' request. Another
difference is that Rogan's bill provides $500 to
implement the program and does not require matching
state grants.
As part of DATIA's testimony to the House of
Representatives, they reiterated their support of a
good drug testing model for school districts across
the country. DATIA will actively work with Congress to
positively promote this issue in the House and the
Senate.