Supreme court rules against school drug testing program

In a decision announced March 20, the Washington State Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Wahkiakum School District random drug testing program for middle and high school athletes is unconstitutional.

The district developed and implemented the policy in the 1990s as part of efforts to reduce drug and alcohol use among students.

Random testing of students began after a 1998 survey by the Wahkiakum Community Network found that a percentage of students had admitted to experimenting with illegal drugs in the recent past.

In 1999, Hans and Kathryn York and Paul and Sharon Schneider, parents of three high school students, sued the district after their children were randomly tested. They claimed the program violated the students' civil rights because there was no basis for suspicion that the students were using drugs or alcohol, and case law developed under the Washington State Constitution prohibits suspicion-less drug testing.

According to court documents, “the school district claimed random drug testing without any individualized suspicion is constitutional.”

While the case was being tried, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of an Oklahoma school's random testing program, stating the students privacy rights weren't violated under the US Constitution. The Washington State Consitution contains stronger rights, however, and the plaintiffs ended up basing their case on the Washington constitution.

In the Wahkiakum County Superior Court case, visiting Judge Doug Gelz upheld the district's position. The plaintiffs appealed that ruling directly to the state supreme court.

The supreme court rejected the superior court decision, citing the state constitution.

In their ruling, justices cited Article One, Section Seven, which says, “No person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law.”

“We’re delighted,” Hans York told The Eagle after the ruling.

He added that the parents brought the suit because the kids didn’t think the testing was right. He said he is proud of the kids for standing up for their rights. He added that he and his wife never would have challenged the policy if it weren’t for the kids.

“We’re not opposed to drug testing,” he said “We are opposed to suspicion-less drug testing.”

The Eagle was unable to contact the Schneiders.

School district officials were philosophical about the decision.

“We need to accept what they have handed down,” said Wahkiakum Principal Loren Davis. “We need to do what is best for the kids.”

He said that now they will have to find other ways to keep kids from using drugs and alcohol.

“While the policy was in place, it gave the kids who didn’t want to use an easier way to say no. They could just use the drug testing policy as an excuse and say their sports were more important.”

Superintendent Bob Garrett said that he was disappointed in the ruling.

“We will naturally comply,” he said. “It will be interesting to see if this has any affect on NCAA rules.”

In the future, if a student is suspected of using drugs, he or she will be referred to the School Resource Officer. Garrett added, however, that staff will not rely on rumors.

Even though the policy is no longer in place, Garrett said he hopes that students won’t go out and use.

“Hopefully students learned better choices,” he said.

In a statement given to The Eagle that can be found on page two in the letters to the editor, Board Member Lee Tischer said while he wasn’t surprised about the decision, he too was disappointed.

“Many saw this policy as a way for student athletes to say no to drugs and alcohol,” he said. “The Washington State Constitution may not allow a roadblock, and as responsible citizens, we cannot let this decision be a roadblock in our fight to keep our youth safe from using drugs and alcohol.”

Former school board member Kari Kandoll said she was disappointed with the ruling.

“Extra curricular activities are a privilege not a right,” she said. She added that while she couldn’t speak for the present board, she believed that community leaders need as many tools as possible to help the kids.

Former school board member Cathy (Turgeon) LaBerge said that she wasn’t surprised by the ruling.

“I think that people should understand our goal was never to bust kids but to give them a reason not to start (using drugs). It was taking the step to help kids say no. That’s what we were doing,” she said.

While the supreme court awarded costs to the plantiffs, district residents need not worry about the cost of the case to the district, Garrett said.

“Fees recouped will not include attorney fees, only court costs” Garrett said.

The American Civil Liberties Union represented the Yorks and the Schneiders. Retired Wahkiakum County Prosecuting Attorney Fred Johnson represented the district. Efforts to reach Johnson were unsuccessful.