High school tests kids for drugs by sampling their HAIR – and no one is allowed to refuse

Rockhurst High School in Kansas, U.S., is to introduce random drug testing

A staff member who is a barber will collect samples of hair from pupils



Participation will be mandatory for all students



School is to test for substances including cocaine, PCP and marijuana



A boys' school is planning to introduce a controversial new anti-drugs policy that will see hair samples collected from students for random testing.

Around 60 strands of hair will be taken from each of a group of randomly selected pupils at Rockhurst High School in Kansas, Missouri, to be tested for cocaine, PCP, marijuana and other substances.



Participation in the scheme, set to be introduced at the Jesuit school at the start of the 2013/14 academic year, will be mandatory.

New policy: Hair samples will be taken from students at Rockhurst High School in Kansas for random drug testing

A member of staff Rockhurst who is a barber will be tasked with collecting their hair, which will be taken away and assessed for evidence of banned substances or alcohol abuse over the preceding 90 days.

'Our point is, if we do encounter a student who has made some bad decisions with drugs or alcohol, we will be able to intervene, get the parents involved, get him help if necessary, and then help him get back on a path of better decision making, healthier choices for his life,' Rockhurst principal Greg Harkness told local news website KSHB.com .

Any student who tests positive will be given a 90-day period to be drug-free. The guidance councillor assigned to that pupil will be notified, and will meet with the student and their parents for a discussion over how best to help the boy concerned.

Under the new policy, the incident will be noted in the student's guidance file, but no administrative personnel will be informed.

The file is destroyed upon graduation and its contents are not sent to colleges or universities.



Testing: Strands of hair collected from Rockhurst students will be tested for evidence of the use of cocaine, PCP, opiates, marijuana and other substances

The school decided to introduce the new policy after carrying out a survey of its students that revealed pupils' perceptions about drug use among their classmates were far removed from reality.

'What was most alarming for us is that when you asked our students if everyone else is doing it, they said "Yes". But, in fact, they weren't,' Mr Harkness said, adding that the misconception was fuelling peer pressure among teenagers.

'...There's this idea that "Everyone is doing it, so I guess I have to do it myself",' the teacher said.

Mr Harkness - who said almost all parents of Rockhurst students were 'on board' - said the policy was also being introduced in light of the impact of addiction and intoxication on the brain development of teenagers.

The new rules will come into force at the start of the new academic year following two years of discussions among staff, administrators and parents.