Pubdate: Sat, 14 Sep 2002
Source: Kentucky Post (KY)
Copyright: 2002 Kentucky Post
Contact:  http://www.kypost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/661
Author: John Jay Fossett
Note: John Jay Fossett is the city solicitor for the city of Covington. 
This column is for informational and educational purposes and is not 
intended to serve as legal advice. For advice regarding this topic or any 
other legal issue, you should consult with a licensed attorney.

FROM DRUGS TO DRESS, COURTS HAVE SAY IN SCHOOLS

With school now back in full swing, it seems appropriate to look at two 
recent court cases - both on the local and national level - that may impact 
our children and our schools.

Earlier this summer, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a school 
district could require all middle and high school students participating in 
extracurricular activities to consent to urinalysis drug testing. Last 
month, federal Judge David L. Bunning refused to issue a preliminary 
injunction prohibiting enforcement of a dress code for students at Highland 
Middle School in Fort Thomas.

The drug testing case decided by the Supreme Court arose out of a policy 
adopted by the school district for Tecumseh, Oklahoma, a rural community 
about 40 miles southeast of Oklahoma City. The policy required students to 
take a drug test before participating in any extracurricular activity - 
such as band, the academic team and athletics - and to submit to random 
drug testing while participating in the activity.

A student who was active in several extracurricular activities challenged 
the policy - through her parents - alleging that the policy violated her 
constitutional rights.

Specifically, she argued that the drug testing violated the Fourth 
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects against unreasonable 
searches and seizures by the government. The student argued that the school 
must have some reasonable suspicion of drug use by her before requiring her 
to take a drug test.

While recognizing that "schoolchildren do not shed their constitutional 
rights when they enter the schoolhouse," the Supreme Court found that the 
school policy was reasonable, and thus, constitutional. When students 
attend school, the Supreme Court said, the school acts as their guardian 
and tutor during the school day. Accordingly, the Court opined that it 
would be reasonable - in light of drug problems in our schools and in 
society as a whole - for a guardian or tutor to require drug testing of his 
charges.

The June decision was an expansion of a case decided by the Court in 1995, 
when it held that the Vernonia, Oregon school district could impose a drug 
testing policy on its student athletes. In the most recent case, the Court 
had no problem expanding this reasoning to include students who 
participated in any extracurricular activity, finding that "students who 
participate in competitive extracurricular activities voluntarily subject 
themselves to many of the same intrusions on their privacy as do athletes."

Last month, the Campbell County school board adopted a random drug testing 
policy for its students who participate in extracurricular activities or 
park on school property at the high school. Other schools in Northern 
Kentucky also have adopted mandatory or voluntary drug testing policies.

Another policy that some local school districts have adopted is a dress 
code policy. These policies generally require students to wear certain 
types and colors of clothes and eschew shirts with logos, unless it is a 
school-sponsored club or athletic team.

In June, the site-based decision-making council at Highlands Middle School 
approved a dress code at that school. Other public schools in Northern 
Kentucky also have approved dress codes for their students. This summer, a 
parent of a middle school student at the Fort Thomas school, who is also a 
lawyer, challenged the dress code, arguing, among other things, that the 
policy represses his child's self- expression in violation of the First 
Amendment to the Constitution.

The U.S. Supreme Court has not decided a case involving a school dress 
code, but other courts have. Last year, a federal court in Louisville 
upheld the constitutionality of a dress code imposed at a Jefferson County 
high school. The court there found that a dress code helped maintain a 
"peaceful and focused educational atmosphere." An Arizona appellate court 
also approved a dress code adopted at a Phoenix grade school.

While Judge Bunning rejected the request for a preliminary injunction, the 
case involving the Highlands Middle School dress code continues. The 
student's father continues to argue that the court should issue a permanent 
injunction prohibiting the dress code. The school, on the other hand, has 
asked the court to summarily dismiss the lawsuit.
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MAP posted-by: Beth