Around the U.S., Hopeful Signs at Schools with Testing
Drug testing programs have shown great promise in reducing student drug use. Here are some encouraging numbers from school districts around the country.
Community High School District #117
Lake Villa, Illinois
Results of the American Drug and Alcohol
Survey for 9th through 12th graders in
2005-2006 show a 29 percent decrease in
past-year drug use, down from 30 percent in
2002 to 21 percent in 2006; and a 33 percent
decrease in past-month drug use, down from
18 percent in 2002 to 12 percent in 2006.
Oceanside Unified School District
Oceanside, California
The Oceanside District saw an increase in
drug use among student-athletes in 2004
after their drug testing program was eliminated.
The school reinstated the program
during the 2005-2006 school year. More than
half of student athletes surveyed in 2006 said
the school’s current drug testing program
made it easier for them to say no to drugs.
Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent
School District
Fort Worth, Texas
Ninth through 12th graders showed a decline
in substance use in 8 of 13 substances
from 2004 to 2005, according to a school
substance use survey.
Paradise Unified School District
Paradise, California
Paradise High School staff noted a decrease
in school disciplinary actions for student
drug use during the 2005-2006 school year
after drug testing began. The California
Healthy Kids Survey results for Paradise
Valley indicate that past-month drug use by
11th graders decreased 12 percent since 2003.
Pulaski County Board of Education
Somerset, Kentucky
The number of disciplinary infractions related
to drug use decreased 26 percent from 76
incidents in 2004-05 to 56 incidents in 2005-06
after one year of student drug testing.