Drug Testings for Utah High School Athletes

An increasing number of school districts in the country are implementing drug-testing programs for students involved in extracurricular activities. The United States Supreme Court has upheld the legality of randomly drug testing high school student involved in school activities (Vernonia School District v. Acton, 515 646 (1995)). Therefore, both the state of Utah and individual school districts have the ability to decide whether they will use drug testing. Most often the high school drug tests are for performance enhancing drugs such as steroids and other amphetamines.  Also commonly looked for are diuretics, which can be used to hide the presence of other drugs in the urine.

Recently the Ogden School District has considered randomly testing students who participate in extracurricular activities for drug and alcohol use.  The district wants to follow similar policies used by the Weber, Box Elder and Rich school districts.  Although such policies do not apply to students not associated with school activities, there are guidelines which allow the other students to be tested upon reasonable suspicion. For more information on drug testing in schools please refer to the National Institute of Health.

Laws constantly evolve and change so if you or your child is found in possession of, or using drugs in high school in Utah you should contact a qualified attorney before speaking with the police.  This is particularly important if you feel the test violated any of your or your child’s rights. A lawyer will be able to advise you on the legality of the issue, help fight a false positive, or appeal a disciplinary action. If your child is tested they should not admit to any drug use and possibly demand a retest. Drug tests are often unreliable and can show a false positive.