Violated in Valpo

The public school system in Valparaiso, Indiana, is so fascist that it might now have the most draconian substance abuse policy in the nation.

The policy is so extreme that it makes all students - not just those in extracurricular activities - eligible to be forced to take a drug test.

Incidentally, Valparaiso is in Porter County - the county that gave a taxpayer bailout to an abusive teen "rehab" cult.

Valparaiso High School's student handbook, which includes the school's voluminous discipline code, details the school district's substance abuse plan:

http://www.valpo.k12.in.us/assets/pdf/08vhshandbook.pdf

(The school also took the unusual step of copyrighting its handbook.)

This right-wing policy says that school administrators "shall have the authority to require any student to submit to a chemical test if the administration has reasonable suspicion to believe the student is using or under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs."

The Constitution, however, says administrators shall not have this authority. Making all students eligible for a forced drug test is blatantly unconstitutional. Not like I expect schools to give a damn what the law is. (I went to public schools that broke laws even in the '70s, so imagine what it's like now.)

What does the school define as "reasonable suspicion" that a student uses drugs? The criteria include general clumsiness, nosebleeds, sleepiness, disobeying the school's closed campus policy, hearsay accusations, and stinking. I'm sure all of you have experienced several of these things. According to the Valparaiso school system, that makes you a druggie.

Is that stupid or what?

If a student is suspected of being on drugs based on these criteria, the student is asked to take a drug test. If the student refuses to submit, they are automatically treated as if the drug test showed drugs in their system. The same goes for any student whose parents refuse to grant permission for them to be tested.

For a school to assume someone is on drugs when they haven't been tested to prove it isn't exactly what I call due process.

If the results come back positive - or if the student or parent refuses the test - the student is subject to disciplinary measures. The penalty may include expulsion.

It's an outright miracle that the school system doesn't get its pants sued off.

Since Porter County is a stronghold of the parent organization of Kids Helping Kids, I wouldn't be surprised if the cult is recruiting in the Valparaiso schools and using the district's substance abuse plan to do it. KHK has recruited in schools in my area, so I wouldn't put it past them.