Survey: Parents Favor Student Drug Testing

The topic has gained traction after a recent survey conducted by District 95 indicated most parents are in favor of instituting a drug testing program for high school students.

During the recent Committee of the Whole meeting, the Community Unit School District 95 Board of Education revisited the debate about initiating some sort of drug testing program among Lake Zurich High School students.

The survey, conducted primarily via e-mail, specifically asked about testing students who are involved in extracurricular activities such as athletics and clubs, as well as those who have parking permits.

In the survey, 52 percent of respondents said they strongly support random drug testing at the high school, 20 percent said they somewhat support it, 8 percent said they are somewhat against it, and 19 percent said they are strongly against it.

The survey asked respondents to choose one of two methods in which the testing could be administered, either by urine samples or a hair collection method. Respondents were also asked to choose whether the testing be administered by trained and certified District 95 personnel, or by contracting with a trained and certified outside company.

The same percentage of respondents, 33 percent, said they strongly support urine testing either by District 95 personnel or an outside company. 24 percent said they somewhat support testing by District 95 personnel and 27 percent said they somewhat support contracting with an outside company.

Twenty-nine percent of the respondents said they strongly support a hair-based test by District 95 personnel, and 23 percent said they somewhat support it. While 30 percent said they strongly support contracting with an outside company, and 26 percent said they somewhat support it.

During the school board meeting, Michael Egan, school superintendant, noted that while close to 75 percent of the parents that were polled support drug testing, some were also vehemently opposed.

“It’s important to address substance abuse in schools as early as possible.” said Egan. “Alcohol and marijuana have long been identified as gateway substances.”

The board agreed with Egan’s proposal that the district should hire a substance abuse program coordinator, although no specific timeframe was discussed.

“There is mixed data regarding the effectiveness of drug testing," Egan said. "The results have been unclear.”

Egan also raised some questions about how drug testing could potentially affect the future of students. “If a student is opted in to the program and subsequently tests positive, does that become part of his permanent record?” he said. “Also, does it affect their ability to get into college?”

Board member Tony Pietro, who expressed his support of a drug testing program, suggested that the district look to neighboring districts that have implemented programs to see how they’ve fared.

“I think we could get a better idea and sense of things if we talk to some of the other area districts," he said.

“I think it’s good to listen to the community,” said board member Kathleen Wallis.

“I think it’s the parent’s role to oversee this, not the schools,” said Mike Finn, board member. “What about alcohol? There’s no effective way to test for alcohol, and that’s by far the biggest substance abuse problem among students. I’ll support whatever we agree on, but I think the issue of alcohol is not being adequately addressed.”

Finn also said that the possibility of being tested for drugs might inhibit some students from participating in extracurricular activities. “I think it’s the job of the schools to educate,” he said.

School board member Kathy Brown reminded the board that there already is a substance abuse policy in place in for the district. “I want to make sure that we’re not overlooking that,” she said.

“We’ve already asked the community, and the community has said yes,” said Doug Goldberg, board member. “We’ve already opened a Pandora’s box.”

The board agreed to revisit the subject in April.