News that the Belvidere School Board was scheduled to vote on whether to start random drug-testing for middle school students stirred up some debate in the lehighvalleylive.com community. Many visitors opposed the proposal, but several others spoke in favor of it.



A sampling of some of the comments appears below.



On Wednesday, the school board approved the measure and a separate alcohol-testing policy. School board President Brian Smith said it's necessary "because sixth- and eighth-graders use drugs."



Two board members voted against the drug policy, and a few residents at the meeting said they oppose it.

See Stephen J. Novak's complete report here:

.

Here's some of the earlier reaction posted on lehighvalleylive.com.

Opponents

included

: "It should be up to the parents to legally agree to a drug test or request a drug test be done to their child. Years ago my daughter was 13 & had to have surgery. She was very hurt and offended that she had to take a pregnancy test. My daughter was just a tiny, scared, skinny little girl & although I understood the need for the testing it really hurt her & she never forgot it. I hope the random drug testing does not hurt any children or have any lasting effects like the hospital pregnancy test did to my daughter. Schools should not undermine parents."

And

: "Doctors nowadays are prescribing medications for kids more often - what kind of stigma is attached to a kid that fails a drug test because of medications taken for depression, ADD, ADHD, or something else? Will they be pulled out of class and embarrassed in front of their peers when the school receives a positive result? Since kids aren't voters, they don't get a say and are treated like second-class citizens. It's a shame. I hope the parents challenge this."

Supporters

included

: "I think that drug testing is a good thing and will help to turn around the schools in a sense. Testing should be random and all ages, sixth grade age 11 I hear is not unusual that a child will be testing recreational drugs. It definitely must be used in all aspects of education across the board. I only wish that it could be used for the parents also."

And

: "I know how crazy this sounds but it's the sign of the times! 6th graders are having sex and using drugs. It's killing society. Hell, most parents don't even know what is going on with their teens/tweens. I would be grateful if my child had a random drug test and if it came up positive then I know what next steps would be; times have changed."

See more of the previous discussion

and

.