Public Student Drug Testing and the Special Needs Doctrine in Board of Education v. Earls: “Just Getting Tougher”

• Date: 01 March 2005
• DOI: 10.1177/0887403403261277
• Published date: 01 March 2005
• Subject Matter: Articles

10.1177/0887403403261277ARTICLECRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICY REVIEW / March 2005Hughes / PUBLIC STUDENT DRUG TESTING

Public Student Drug Testing and

the Special Needs Doctrine in

Board of Education v. Earls:

“Just Getting Tougher”

Tom “Tad” Hughes

University of Louisville

The Supreme Court recently decided the case of Board of Education v. Earls (2002).

The case affirmed the constitutionality of drug testing for public school students who

participate in extracurricular activities. The case represents an expansionof the use

of drug testing in public schools and may prove to be the impetus for increaseddrug

testing in public school systems around the United States. Moreover, the constitu-

tional basis for the case outcome representsa protean doctrine applicable to a variety

of quasi-law enforcement situations. This article examines the currentnature of drug

testing in the United States. Next, the legal doctrines and precedents that led to the

Earls case are explored. Finally, the case opinion and its policy implications are

discussed.

Keywords: drug testing; Fourth Amendment; public schools

The Supreme Court decided the case of Board of Education v. Earls in

2002. This case found the practice of drug testing public school students

engaged in extracurricular activities to be constitutional. The Earls case

represents a major expansion of the ability of public school officials to

employ drug testing to address concerns of drug use in public schools. The

constitutional doctrine relied on by the Court in this case—the “special

needs doctrine”—is a relatively new method of construing the Fourth

Amendment. Moreover, the doctrine’s protean nature allows substantial

governmental action in quasi-law enforcement situations. Such a malleable

doctrine with a potential application to a wide variety of situations will

likely continue to grow. The Earls case may also provide the impetus for

increased use of drug testing for public schools around the country. More

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Criminal Justice Policy Review, Volume 16, Number 1, March 2005 3-17

DOI: 10.1177/0887403403261277

© 2005 Sage Publications