We call on the Superintendent and Board of Education to abandon plans for Random Student Drug Testing at Cloverleaf High School and Cloverleaf Middle School.

The Board of Education of the Cloverleaf Local Schools is moving to draft and implement a policy that would impose Mandatory Random Drug Testing (MRDT) of all students who are: 1) involved in any extra-curricular activities, 2) participating in any after-school sports, or 3) parking on campus. This would include an estimated 80% of the students attending school in the district and could be implemented as early as the 2015-16 academic year.

Many parents, students, community members and public officials worry that MRDT is not the most effective way to reach out to kids with drug and alcohol problems and may create a climate of fear that will impact all students’ ability to learn and thrive.

We are concerned that the process by which the proponents have formulated and advanced this policy is hasty, confusing, poorly documented and misleading. The proponents of this policy have made assertions about the scope of drug abuse in our area without documenting their claims.

There have been numerous studies over the last 15 years that conclude that MRDT in high schools has limited or no benefit, in fact some studies show that drug use increases after the implementation of MRDT.

We advocate for targeted assistance for youths at risk and for an improved drug education program (from middle school on) that will teach students about the dangers of drug use and the warning signs of addiction. We fear that the emphasis on MRDT as a means of preventing and reducing drug use will undermine and detract from these and other measures that have long track records of effectiveness.

Finally, we worry that students may experience MRDT as a humiliating, stressful and embarrassing invasion of their privacy and that the policy will undermine the spirit of collegiality and scholarship that our schools have long nurtured and championed.

Your signed petition will be delivered to the superintendent and the members of the Cloverleaf Local Schools Board of Education. We hope that the Board will choose to abandon MRDT and instead work with teachers, students, administrators, parents and others to carefully assess the nature and extent of student drug use and to craft a policy that will educate and help at-risk youth while continuing to promote academic excellence and fellowship.

Sincerely,