Drug Testing of Students

Historical Background

Drug testing of student-athletes has routinely been done through urinalysis. Institutional officials have relied on urinalysis, because tests of hair, saliva, and even blood have been demonstrated to be less reliable than urinalysis. Moreover, obtaining blood samples is more invasive than collecting urine samples. As long as urine samples are precisely collected and handled, the reliability of these tests is extremely high. While most of the inaccuracy of urine samples is due to handling, college and university officials who utilize drug testing typically conduct second checks on samples that produce positive outcomes for banned substances in order to help to ensure the accuracy of results. In institutions of higher learning that employ drug testing, student-athletes are generally asked to produce urine samples at least once in the course of a sport season. Other random samples of urine may be taken throughout the remainder of the season.

In higher education, drug testing started with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In the early 1970s, NCAA officials adopted a policy that restricted drug use by student-athletes. However, after the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) implemented drug testing in the 1980s, the NCAA followed the USOC's lead and created its own drug-testing policy for student-athletes in member institutions. Pursuant to the NCAA's policy, student-athletes must agree to urinalysis drug testing as a precondition to qualify for participating in intercollegiate athletic competitions. Student-athletes who test positive for banned substances are banned from participating in athletic events for one calendar year from the time of the positive test.

At the same time, the NCAA policy requires student-athletes to sign consent forms agreeing to submit to random, suspicionless drug testing prior to participating in intercollegiate athletic competitions. Student-athletes who refuse to sign consent forms can be barred from participating in intercollegiate athletic competitions and practices. While one court interpreted this consent requirement as being unconstitutional, most cases agree that testing is constitutional insofar as student-athletes lack constitutional rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to participate in intercollegiate athletics. Other college athletic associations—the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the National Junior College Athletic Association—do not require drug testing in the intercollegiate sports programs operated by their member institutions.

Constitutional Issues

Two U.S. Supreme Court cases addressing drug testing of high school students have helped to clarify judicial standards with regard to student privacy when confronted with search and seizure issues in this contentious area. Given the relative lack of litigation involving higher education, the judicial analyses in the Supreme Court cases can be adapted in colleges and universities to help clarify the reasonable expectations of officials who are responsible for administering drug-testing policies.

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