POSTED BY MARTIN KICH

This is a follow-up to my December 29 post, “Court Blocks Mandatory Drug Screening at State College.”

Given the substantial reductions in state support very recently announced for the state colleges and universities in Missouri, the pursuit of this appeal does not seem an especially prudent allocation of institutional resources.

The following excerpts are from an article written by Bob Watson for the News Tribune in Jefferson City, Missouri:

“State Technical College wants the U.S. Supreme Court to have the final say on the constitutionality of making some students take drug tests.

“On Dec. 20, the federal 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the State Tech policy, in place since 2011, was unconstitutional. . . .

“Kent Brown, State Tech’s attorney, . . . thinks there is a possibility the U.S. Supreme Court will accept the school’s appeal.

“But Tony Rothert, the ACLU of Missouri’s legal director, told the News Tribune on Friday: “It is difficult to imagine that the Supreme Court would be interested in reviewing a thorough decision from the Court of Appeals, to entertain State Technical College’s argument that its students should be treated as second-class citizens with lesser constitutional protections than every other public college student in the country.”

“The drug-testing program began more than five years ago, when then-Linn State College President Don Claycomb convinced the regents the policy was needed to ‘provide a safe, healthy and productive environment for everyone who learns and works at the college.’

“To remain enrolled, students were required to complete a urine sample, which would be tested for 11 drugs.

“If the results tested positive, the student would have to complete a drug-awareness course or attend counseling, provide a second urine sample 45 days later and submit to a random drug test at a later date.

“But the ACLU sued on behalf of several students, arguing the policy wasn’t needed at all. . . .

“The St. Louis-based appeals court in December 2015 upheld the limited testing, but the full court’s ruling last month overturned the 2015 decision.”

Watson’s complete article is available at: http://www.newstribune.com/news/local/story/2017/jan/21/state-tech-asks-high-court-consider-drug-testing/658159/.