Benjamin Rush (1745-1813) Signer of the Declaration of Independence & “Father of Public Schools”
Posted on 01/31/2013 10:16:50 AM PST by Responsibility2nd
One Kansas City high school is taking the war on drugs to the next level. Beginning this fall, Rockhurst High School will require students to submit their hair for random drug tests, reports KSHB. In a somewhat bizarre-sounding process, a staff member who happens to be a barber will cut about 60 strands from randomly selected students' heads or bodies. (KSHB helpfully clarifies that hair in private areas will not be touched.) The Jesuit institution will then test for everything from cocaine and PCP to pot and signs of binge drinking; the test is said to be able to identify consumption in the last 90 days.
Positive tests will result in the student's guidance counselor bringing in the parents and student for a discussion, to "get him help if necessary," says Rockhurst's principal. The school administration will not be informed of positive tests nor will universities find out. "Nothing prohibits it," the legal director for the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri tells CBS News. "But it is a colossal waste of money."
NOT a public screwl.
(yet)
Interesting but it is my understanding that the follicle is the proper sample as externally exposed hair can absorb all sorts of material present in the atmosphere.
Why not just have the little chillren pee in a cup?
Much more effective sample, no?
private school
but then, the TSA is searching without cause.
Testing that checks hair samples for drug metabolites avoids false positives due to external exposure to the raw drug.
How are they going to check the school staff for presence of homosexuality and pedophilia?
I wouldn't be sending my kid to this school.....outrageous....
Why not just have the little chillren pee in a cup?
Much more effective sample, no?
No. Think of hair as a "permanent record." A lot of stuff flushes out of your body and becomes undetectable via urine in a couple of days.
One hypothesis is that this is for them.
As well as ending the 4th Amendment,
this will identify which students are the easiest targets.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.[1]
At least this will preapare them for the work world.
My kids are in a private Christian school that instituted a random drug testing program 3 years ago. It has been very successful and others are in the area are copy it. Both students and faculty are subject to random screening. My wife works there as well and she has been tested twice.
It is a private school and you have to take an entrance exam to get in. A lot of kids that get into that type of school don’t make it to graduation. Unlike the public schools, you don’t get a diploma for warming a seat for four years.
As well as ending the 4th Amendment,
<sarcasm>Don't worry, once we've completely given away all of our other rights, we'll just get them back using our 2nd Amendment rights. Fighting superior government forces will be more convenient than standing up for our rights at the ballot box or in the courts.</sarcasm>
Additionally if the hair has been on your head for awhile it can give an approximate history of when drug use occurred.
I have no idea what the school is trying to prove but this is approaching police state tactics. It has no bearing on the current time frame or any indication what has happened during school time. Once this information is stored it will be available indefinitely to whoever can access the information. I’d pull my kids out or shave their heads and my some wigs.
Whatever for?
Is there a rampant drug problem at your Christian school?
Or is this testing just a gimmick? What’s next? Do you test the little 12 year old girls for pregnancy also? I suppose all you parents do drug tests at home too? Search their rooms on a monthly basis?
I must be missing the totally obvious here. Please explain the rationale for drug testing children in a Christian school.
I... I.... I’m speechless!
Ping!
Foolishness like you posted is why the Left wins.
Testing of school administration and board members should be mandantory before anyone tests my child.
This has nothing to do with “School and State.” This is a private school.
yup, test the entire school staff and all the administrators, the janitors, lunch ladies, bus drivers, test them all first. let’s make sure we can trust those that will be responsible for testing the kids they oversee, first.
Maybe this isn’t such a bad idea, IF they make sure to cut all the hair short.
Because it’s widely known that long (hippie) hair is strongly correlated with drug use !
At least in males.
Drugs in affluent private schools are rampant Christian school or not. The rationale is that if we can find out if individuals have drug issues early then intervention and treatment will keep them from becoming much larger issues in the future. A former student died of a heroin overdose in college and it was apparently well known to the students that he took some serious drugs. We are trying to prevent that from happening again with this program. It is not meant to “catch” kids and punish them. It’s meant to help them and get them into treatment programs. Studies show that if a kid does not try drugs prior to age 18 then the chance of them ever trying them are significantly less. The testing also provides kids an excuse for not partaking when they are around kids from other schools. That built in excuse has worked numerous times. The school is a 24/7/365 school which means any and all activity outside the school is considered a reflection on the student and the school.
Furthermore, it is a private school. If you don’t like the policy then you are free to go elsewhere.
I know Rockhurst is private. My grandson is a senior at that school.
You need to reflect a little further on the import of my remark.
5.56mm
Thank you.
I must be naive. I just never would have expected a Christian school would have to be so pro-active in the fight against drugs.
Funny thing though pot takes 70 to 90 days to flush out and is actually more beneficial than harmful in many ways as the culture is slowing learning.
My question to you though:
I’d heard pot can only be detected with a urine sample, not blood nor hair follicles - both of which are slower and extremely expensive. Hair follicle tests approx $1000.00 iirc.
Sadly I wouldn’t have expected it as well. But as you probably know when parents try to put their children in Christian environments it works with a lot of kids but not on all. Couple that with kids that have a lot of money and, sometimes, little parental supervision and you know what can happen... The vast majority of kids will never have an issue but there will be some who do.
I will say that if my kids were in public school, no way would I want this program to be in place as I am fearful of what the government would do with the info. That’s the beauty of private school. We can do just about whatever we want :-)
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This ping list is for the “other” articles of interest to homeschoolers about education and public school. This can occasionally be a fairly high volume list. Articles pinged to the Another Reason to Homeschool List will be given the keyword of ARTH. (If I remember. If I forget, please feel free to add it yourself)
The main Homeschool Ping List handles the homeschool-specific articles. I hold both the Homeschool Ping List and the Another Reason to Homeschool Ping list. Please freepmail me to let me know if you would like to be added to or removed from either list, or both.
When I taught in a public high school I was tested in a random drug test. Agreeing to such was part of my contract.
Pray tell - the “import” of your remark.
Interesting. Were you in a union state? Can’t imagine they would allow drug testing. Did they test the kids?
Of course, they have probable cause and a warrant for each student, right? Right? KC parents need to unite and let these people have it. The USSC has already ruled that rights do not end when a student walks through the school house doors.
This is a private school, not a public school. It is most likely parents knew of and agreed to this policy prior to enrolling their children.
You've not yet "reflected" on the import?
“Much more effective sample, no?”
Not really, since most drugs are out of your urine in a few days or, at most a few weeks. They can detect traces in hair samples for much longer, if you have long enough hair of course. I’m guessing the “skinhead” look will become all the rage with the stoners at this school.
I know many homeschool families that weren’t comfortable continuing to school their kids through high school that sent their sons on to Rockhurst. This surprises me! It is a boys only school. We talked about it before deciding to continue at home. It’s a decent school.
Yes, there was a union, but I was not forced to join. No, they did not test the kids, but there were drug-sniffing dogs brought in once in a while. And there was a fair amount of drug activity going on apparently.
Hair samples give a long term view.
The company I retired from used this as a part of the pre-employment physical.
Not surprisingly a good % of fresh college grads didn’t make the grade.
“I wouldn’t be sending my kid to this school..”
I wouldn’t either. Granted, this is a private school so if they make the decision that everyone shaves off one eyebrow... the parents have to allow it or leave. That being said, schools have become very intrusive into becoming “the parent”. They feel entitled to intruding into the parent/child relationship.. usually without merit. Now, if they saw some kid acting like they were on drugs then notify the parents of their suspicion. Check lockers, check backpacks. However, to pull hair out of a child’s head to check for the possibility of drug use.. with no other suspicion other than it is a kid.. is beyond intrusive to me. What happens if there is a false positive? What happens if the child did take a tylenol #3 with a doctor’s script? This kind of info will get out and damage the reputation of the kid... As stated, I wouldn’t send my child to any private school that would allow such an intrusive search. IMHO.
The Admin and Parents at Rockhurst are Christian, and as Christians, they know they are not perfect and neither are their children.
They are trying to keep their standards high and the school has a reputation based on those standards.
Or.... would you rather they just drop their standards, ignore drug abuse, allow the parent's considerable financial investment to go to waste, and have another educational facility turn to mush like many public schools?
The problem is NOT that they are doing this in a private school, but that they don't do it in public schools.
Oh..... the parents who pay the high tuition required to attend Rockhurst do an excellent job of vetting the teachers.
Really?
Do you understand that it is the parents who want and support this drug testing at that school ?
Parents know that teens can be influenced by other teens, so they want to know if any of the students are abusing illegal drugs, and if their children are involved. Help is provided to the students who fail the test, and the school admin uses no punishment nor records the failure.
This is a win situation for everyone involved and keeps the government out of it, so how is it a 'police state' ?
This is a private Catholic School. Not part of the Public School System. If FReepers are against this policy what the hell are you doing on this site? P.S. I am not a Catholic.
I would not put up with such an invasion of privacy. Disgusting to see so called conservatives supporting the degradation of personal freedom from witch hunts such as this.
No. Don't need it. It's a PRIVATE CATHOLIC BOYS SCHOOL and they can search anyone anyway they want.
KC parents need to unite and let these people have it.
They have. They give money to the school because it has an excellent reputation. The parents like the idea that drugs will be kept out of the school and that those who would waste the teacher's time and shortchange the value of education that the other children are trying to get are helped or removed.
The USSC has already ruled that rights do not end when a student walks through the school house doors.
Oh.... you're completely correct. It is better to have a school where the teachers are just room monitors who wear blinders while the students rap and party until they are 'released' for the day. A school where guns and knives, murders and injuries are acceptable inconveniences. A place where tons of money is spent, and children learn nothing. Yeah.... soooo much better than a school like Rockhurst.
Actually, you are correct, but don't yet see it (or maybe you do and I'm reading your comment wrong).
The School is separate from the State. Rockhurst is not a public school. This is being done not because the 'state' wants it, but because the alma mater of the school want it.
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