Recently The New York Times released a story that’s main focus is on a family from Pennsylvania who is currently fighting the drug testing of middle school students
The Kiederer family recently filed a lawsuit against the Delaware Valley School District in Pennsylvania. One of the Kiederer daughters was asked to undergo a drug test because she wanted to play sports for a team. However, the problem is their daughter is only in middle school!
The family fights this because they believe “that the practice is unnecessary and violates privacy rights.”
However, what privacy rights does a middle school child have?!
I would like to propose two counter arguments to the Kiederer’s comments.
Firstly, we must realize that things like drugs and pregnancy are increasingly happening at a much younger age than before. Parents are losing more and more control over what their child has access to. Thus, parents should be able to have the least bit of assurance through simple processes such as peeing in a cup for testing. Even steroids can be a concern.
Secondly, children will always play a major role of influence with each other, especially through curiosity and experimentation. Parents should have an idea of whether the kid on the same team as their child is on drugs! And what exactly the consequences are.
So, perhaps the benefits weigh out the negatives in this situation. In my opinion, middle school students should continue to get drug tested.