The Zionsville Student Rights Union (ZSRU) opposes the proposed random drug testing (RDT) policy for several reasons: 1) It encroaches on parental rights and imposes financial burdens by requiring counseling for all students who test positive. 2) It will negatively impact the educational environment and trust between students and administrators instead of promoting a positive school climate. 3) It does not maintain sufficient student privacy or confidentiality. The ZSRU proposes alternative options such as facilitating testing between the toxicology lab and students/parents without school involvement, removing mandatory counseling, and allocating funds to comprehensive drug education instead of RDT. The ZSRU urges the Board to consider all options

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Summary of Concerns & Recommendations!
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The Zionsville Student Rights Union (ZSRU), an independent student advocacy organization founded at
ZCHS in 2008, opposes the proposed RDT policy as written. Below is a summary of our concerns
regarding the proposed policy, and our recommendations for amendments to the policy, as well as
alternative options for confronting drug problems in the Zionsville Community Schools.
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■ Compulsory Counseling: the proposed policy includes a requirement that a student testing
“positive” for a covered illicit substance enroll in a counseling program as a condition of
reinstatement at parent/student expense. The ZSRU asserts that this requirement (a) encroaches upon
the parental prerogative to address drug use of one’s children as one sees fit; (b) imposes a
substantial and undue financial burden on parents; and (c) assumes a “one-size-fits-all” approach to
drug use/abuse that does not accurately reflect the realities of adolescent drug use.
■ Negative Impact on Educational Environment: the relationship of trust between student and
administrator, as well as the overall positive climate of the school, stand to suffer substantial
negative consequences under the proposed policy. One of the studies cited in the “RDT FAQ”
supports the idea that creating a positive school climate is more effective than RDT in preventing
student drug use (Sznitman & Romer, 2013). The ZSRU asserts that the RDT policy as proposed will
not be an effective means of maintaining such a climate. Additionally, testing days would constitute
a substantial disruption of any classrooms in which randomly selected students are participating.
■ Practical Confidentiality: the realities of the high school environment will limit the extent to which
actual confidentiality could possibly be maintained. If an extracurricular participant suddenly
cannot participate following a random drug testing event, then the reason for their absence will be
inferred by peers. Further, students taking prescription medications that would trigger a “positive”
would be required to present evidence of prescription, therefore compelled to share highly sensitive
medical information with a third party. The ZSRU holds that this is not a sufficient level of
confidentiality, and therefore not an ethically acceptable level of student privacy maintenance.
■ Measurability: while the efficacy of RDT can be measured under tightly controlled experimental
protocols, the lack of a true quantitative baseline of current student drug habits would preclude
meaningful data that would demonstrate the efficacy of this particular program. Therefore, if
enacted, there will be limited ways in which the Board will be able to assess the success and
appropriateness of the program over time.
■ Existing Tools: the ZCHS administration already has at its disposal individual drug testing based on
reasonable suspicion of impairment in school or during extracurricular participation, as well as field-
test breathalyzers for students suspected of being under the influence of alcohol.
Regarding Random Student Drug
Testing
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2. ■ Other practical concerns: treatment of “diluted” samples (i.e. will a “diluted” or “invalid” sample
be treated as “positive” until proven otherwise?); how students with excused absences (illness,
college visits, field trips, etc.) be included in the RDT sample?
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The Zionsville Student Rights Union recognizes the need for confronting student drug use whenever
it arises, and proposes the following alternatives to the proposed policy as written (these suggestions
vary in level of departure from the proposed plan):
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■ That the information arising from drug tests be shared directly between Midwest Toxicology and
student and parents, and that school officials not be privy to that information;
■ This would change the practical effects and public perceptions of the program from adversarial
and punitive (although not academically so) to “school as facilitator” of a tool for parents and
students to utilize as they see fit.
■ This type of approach is already provided for in ZCHS handbook (pp. 9-10 of the online
version currently posted). We propose similar protocol to that described in the handbook, while
compelling athletes and extracurricular participants to be included in the pool, and the school
shouldering the costs of testing.
■ That the mandatory counseling requirement be removed;
■ That the necessity of counseling be assessed by an objective and qualified third party on a case-by-
case basis at the school’s expense (with monies from the vending/concessions fund);
■ That if mandatory counseling is not removed, the school allocate monies from the vending/
concessions fund to assist families with the cost of counseling;
■ That any RDT policy enacted require the dates of testing events to be selected at random, rather than
at the ZCHS administration’s discretion (i.e. the ZCHS administration picks the number of tests for
which to budget, and the dates themselves are randomly selected);
■ Should a randomly selected date conflict with a major academic event, such as AP exams or
finals, the ZCHS administration would have the discretion to randomly select an alternative
date.
■ That the funds proposed to be allocated for RDT be assigned to investigation of more effective
means of confronting drug issues through comprehensive drug education
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In sum, the Zionsville Student Rights Union urges the Board to consider all viable alternatives to the
random drug testing regime proposed before committing the Zionsville Community Schools to such a
substantial departure from current standard operating procedures and organizational values.
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The ZSRU therefore implores the Board to table this issue until such a time that more
comprehensive public opinion may be understood and all options for confronting student drug use
can be considered publicly.