Oak Park-River Forest High School Considers Drug Testing

By Anna Deem in News on Dec 12, 2010 6:45PM

After a report showed an increase in drug and alcohol use at Oak Park-River Forest High School, a parent's group is now considering testing students for drugs and possibly using drug-sniffing dogs to search lockers and parking lots for illegal substances. A decision has not been made yet, although a recent meeting showed that parents favor canine searches despite the fact that they interrupt class time, are costly, and infringe on privacy rights.

School officials feel that drug use among students is not a significant problem, but they were still willing to consider both programs, which would be randomly conducted and would need to first be approved by The OPRF Board of Education. Dean Jason Dennis admitted to parents that he believed only 5 percent to 10 percent of the 3,200 students use drugs. "Most kids are doing great things," he said via the Chicago Sun-Times. Still, the school report showed that 39 percent of seniors admitted to binge drinking in the last two weeks, an increase from 37 percent in 2008. 41 percent of seniors also admitted to smoking marijuana in the previous month, an increase from 33 percent in 2008.