Pubdate: Thu, 24 Aug 2000
Source: News-Sentinel (IN)
Copyright: 2000 The News-Sentinel
Contact:  600 West Main Street, Fort Wayne, IN 46802
Website: http://www.news-sentinel.com/ns/index.shtml
Author: Leo Morris, for the editorial board

A WELCOME BOW TO FEDERALIST PRINCIPLES

Appeals Court Says The State Constitution Has Final Say On Drug Policy.

For those who care only about real-world effects, there will be much to 
argue about in the Indiana Court of Appeals ruling this week that schools 
cannot require students to submit to random drug tests as a condition for 
driving to school, playing sports or joining a club. Instead, they must 
rely on probable cause.

For those trying to do everything they can to stop illegal drug use -- such 
as school boards and administrators -- the ruling will be a setback. "(The 
policy) was not intended to be punitive. We certainly thought it was an 
effective deterrent, and it gave students a reason to say no," said 
Superintendent Robert Herrold of Hamilton County's Southeastern Schools. 
And certainly the possibility of being randomly tested will keep some 
students from using drugs.

But to those who fight for "the rights of students" -- such as the Indiana 
Civil Liberties Union -- the decision is a clear victory. Such tests 
violate the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable search and 
seizure, the ICLU has long argued. And though students are not in a legal 
sense citizens in microcosm -- they are in a structured learning 
environment, after all -- there is something to be said for not sending an 
anti-"innocent until proven guilty" message to students.

What should be beyond dispute -- because it does matter even if it has no 
immediate real-world implications -- is the appeals court's reliance on 
federalism in its decision. Though random drug testing has been upheld by 
federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court, the Hoosier justices ruled, that 
doesn't matter in Indiana. That's because the state's constitution provides 
greater protections against invasions of privacy than the federal 
government does, they ruled.

An appropriate ruling. School districts across the state are at least 
temporarily halting any random drug testing while everybody prepares for 
the anticipated appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court. That's appropriate, too.

However the issue is resolved, it is refreshing to see the whole 
controversy thrashed out at the state level. In an era when federal 
dictates seem to trump every other initiative, that is indeed most welcome.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart