Students as young as 12 to be drug tested in Texas school district

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A Texas school district is set to drug test students as young as 12 years old before they can participate in sports, student council or any other extracurricular activities.

In a notice to parents and students, Bushland Independent School District Superintendent Chris Wigington said students who want to participate in extracurricular activities or park at the school will be tested at the beginning of each school year with random testing occurring as many as 10 times per school calendar. 

{mosads}“The Bushland ISD Board of Trustees believe that maintaining an environment that is safe, free from illegal substance abuse, and conducive to learning is an important goal for the district and community. This policy and the program that it supports are designed not for punitive measures, but to eliminate the potential threat to the student’s health and safety that can occur if students are using or under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs,” Wigington wrote in the release. 

The tests will reportedly test for marijuana, alcohol, opioids and other substances, The Associated Press reported.

If a student refuses to provide a sample, they will be deemed to have a positive result.

Several other districts in Texas have drug testing in place, according to the report.

In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an Oklahoma school that randomly drug tests students who participate in nonathletic extracurricular activities did not violate students’ constitutional rights.

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