It’s no secret that professional athletes are subject to random drug testing, and now lawmakers in Indiana are suggesting the same for student-athletes at the high school level.
Republican state senator Jean Leising is suggesting that students who want to play a sport should be ready to take a drug test, according to Wane.com.
"I think this would be a deterrent for those kids to be engaged in any kind of drug activities, because if they realized they were subject to drug testing, and they are that star athlete or that prize cheerleader, they're going to be reluctant to participate in illegal drugs," Leising said.
Leising is pitching the proposed legislation as a just another "tool" for parents, coaches and administrators to ensure that kids are "clean."
Bobby Cox, commissioner of the Indiana High School Association, says he's never been a "fan" of random drug testing for a variety of reasons.
"I think our member schools are doing a pretty good job enforcing their substance abuse policies that they've already authored themselves," Cox said Thursday. "I don't know that adding this type of an expense and mandating this on our high schools is the answer that's going to detour young people from participating in things they shouldn't be doing."
Cox went a step further, asking why athletes were being singled out.
"Why aren't we randomly drug testing all students?” Cox asked. “Why are we isolating athletic activities? Shouldn't we be testing the band? Shouldn't we be testing the drama club? Those types of things in the high school scheme of things are just as important."
