New Jersey School District May Implement Random Drug Testing

A New Jersey school district is proposing random drug and alcohol testing of students at high schools in the area, which could result in the loss of privileges and mandatory counseling for students who test positive, NBC New York reports.

Parents of students that attend Demarest and Old Tappan high schools in the Northern Valley Regional High School District expressed outrage over the policy decision at a board meeting Monday night where the plan was explained.

Students who test positive for drugs or alcohol would not be suspended and the results would not be included in the student's disciplinary record, but would result in loss of privileges; punishments may become more severe if the student does not stop the drug or alcohol use.

Parents who attended the meeting Monday night expressed their frustration that they were not consulted during the creation of the policy and decried the effectiveness of such a policy.

"It seems very sudden that such a big policy like this would be coming to a school district such as Northern Valley without the knowledge of parents," G.C. Vaghasia, a Northern Valley parent, told NBC New York.

"The data is all over the place," said Jamie Kopf, another parent. "It's not something that's conclusively proven to help reduce use of drugs."

The district plans to fine-tune the policy over the summer and may implement it when the school year begins in the fall.