Cout OKs Random Drug Tests in Schools Thu Jun 27,10:23 AM ET By ANNE GEARAN, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court approved random drug tests for many public high school students Thursday, ruling that schools' interest in ridding their campuses of drugs outweighs an individual's right to privacy. The 5-4 decision would allow the broadest drug testing the court has yet permitted for young people whom authorities have no particular reason to suspect of wrongdoing. It applies to students who join competitive after-school activities or teams, a category that includes many if not most middle-school and high-school students. Previously these tests had been allowed only for student athletes. "We find that testing students who participate in extracurricular activities is a reasonably effective means of addressing the school district's legitimate concerns in preventing, deterring and detecting drug use," Justice Clarence Thomas ( news - web sites) wrote for himself, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia ( news - web sites), Anthony M. Kennedy and Stephen Breyer ( news - web sites). The court stopped short of allowing random tests for any student, whether or not involved in extracurricular activities, but several justices have indicated they are interested in answering that question at some point. -more- http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...p/20020627/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_drug_tests_5
