Over the past several decades, mandatory random student drug testing (MRSDT) has emerged as a form of genuine high-stakes testing. Embroiled in litigation and controversies, stakeholders have been searching for a balance between ensuring rights and maintaining the safety and wellbeing of students. Historical elements to the question of allowing…

When most people think of legal issues in sport, they think about negligence. However, most professionals will face a much broader range of issues. For instance, topics such as sexual harassment, corporal punishment, drug testing, transportation, and hazing are all of special importance today. Also anti-discrimination laws and the concepts…

This third edition expands coverage on such topics as the law and students with disabilities, confidentiality, sexual harassment, student searches and tuition vouchers. It also includes some new topics such as bullying, copyright law, and the law and the internet. Both public and nonpublic school educators are aware that courts, over the last…

By upholding a student's refusal to provide a urine sample, the Seventh Circuit Court correctly avoided further erosion of the Fourth Amendment's privacy principle. In "New Jersey v T.L.O." (1995), the U.S. Supreme Court shrunk the probable-cause standard to reasonable suspicion in the special context of public schools, retaining the…

Both public and non-public school educators are aware that courts, over the last several decades, have played an increasingly significant role in defining school policy. Decisions in such areas as school desegregation, prayer, public school financing, student rights, collective bargaining, and other personnel issues attest to the extent and…

In 1985, the United States Supreme Court, in "New Jersey v. T.L.O.," held that the Fourth Amendment applies to searches and seizures conducted by public school administrators. This paper discusses the current state of Fourth Amendment law with regard to public school searches and seizures. Among the subtopics discussed are the following:…

Public concern about use of drugs by young people in the United States remains high and efforts to counter drug abuse through education and intervention continue. While drug testing of athletes at the collegiate level is fairly common, legal restraints make testing less common at the secondary school level. After citing numerous statistics…

In "Acton," the Supreme Court upheld a local school board policy calling for the random, suspicionless drug testing of interscholastic student-athletes. Reviews the Court's holdings. Concludes that a drug-testing policy that is consistent with "Acton" and enjoys broad-based community support probably would be worth its expense.…

In response to an earlier article by Eugene Lincoln, presents two hypothetical cases that respectively deal with the possible effects of drug use on school premises and with a policy governing mandatory urine testing for student athletes. Cites factors that should be incorporated in any mandatory drug testing policy. (MLF)

This document examines the Fourth Amendment as the source of search and seizure law; drug testing of school employees; and drug testing searches of students. The United States Supreme Court case that established the two-part test to determine the legality of a student search is discussed, three separate student drug testing programs that have been…

In a case involving questionable canine search-and-seizure practices, a circuit court upheld a school board's decision to terminate a teacher's contract. While touting zero tolerance, the board fired an honored teacher 3 years from retirement who may not have known about the marijuana cigarette in her car. (MLH)

In 1988, the Tennessee Legislature passed permissive legislation (TCA 49-940) that allows school officials to test suspected students for using drugs. The law provides that testing is optional, with each local education agency deciding whether or not to adopt the policy. Twelve school systems chose to adopt the legislation as board policy. This…

The issue of drug testing is the focus of this ERIC Digest. Several aspects of drug testing discussed in question-and-answer format: (1) What is the current status of drug use in the schools? (2) What legal questions arise when schools consider drug testing? (3) How might drug testing be applied in a fair, economical, and legally safe manner? (4)…

Filing a lawsuit against a school district often means challenging the core values of a community. Cases discussed include a suit to prevent the broadcasting of morning prayers in school ("Herdahl"), a suit over the singing of a religious song ("Bauchman"), and drug-use testing for student athletes ("Acton"). (MLF)

This report--part of a collection of 54 papers from the 48th annual conference of the Education Law Association held in November 2002-- discusses student drug testing in Texas public schools. It contains the results of a 2001 study of student drug-testing policies in all 1,056 Texas public-school districts. In response to the Supreme Court's June…