College faces lawsuit for drug testing implementation

brave step by the college to apparently prepare students for “profitable employment” upon graduation. “Drug screening is becoming an increasingly important part of the world of work,” the school said. If students refuse to be tested they face possible expulsion. As expected, it didn’t take long for the college to face a legal challenge regarding the mandatory testing. The ACLU filed a federal class action last Wednesday alleging the school has violated its students constitutional rights. “It is unconstitutional to force students to submit to a drug test when there is zero indication of any kind of criminal activity,” Jason Williamson, a staff attorney with the ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project, said in a statement. “The college has demonstrated no legitimate need to drug test its students that outweighs their constitutionally protected privacy rights. This is an unprecedented policy, and nothing like it has ever been sanctioned by the courts.” While drug testing is an increasingly important part of the working world, the question begs as to whether it ought to be applicable to students too – or is this a step too far? The college said that its drug screening program will “better provide a safe, healthy, and productive environment for everyone who learns and works at LSTC by detecting, preventing, and deterring drug use.” Brown, the college’s attorney, told AP last week that the scope and breadth of the testing program is unique and that “there aren’t many colleges as unique as ours.” Missouri federal judge Nanette K Laughrey yesterday granted the ACLU’s request for a temporary restraining order, ordering the school to halt any additional analysis of urine specimens that it had already collected and instructing a drug testing company not to release any results it may have compiled. What are your thoughts? Do you think that drug testing students is a useful insight for them into their future in the workforce, or a constitutional breach?]]>