Vernonia V. Acton Case Study

In Vernonia v. Acton, the issue in question is the school’s ability to drug test student-athletes. In the mid 80’s, the Vernonia School District noticed an uptick in drug use, and more so from athletes. Furthermore, the football and wrestling coach cited several situations that he felt drug-use was causing the athletes to be unsafe. Thus, the school instituted a mandatory drug test for all student athletes prior to the season, and then weekly random drug testing. If a student-athlete failed a test, they would have the choice of joining a rehab program, or serving a suspension. Suspension of school was never an option, nor were the results reported to authorities. Results were reported to the superintendent, athletic director, and other personnel on a need to know basis.

James Acton, a seventh grader, and his parents refused to sign the consent forms to allow testing to occur. They argued that he should still be allowed to participate as the testing policy

The court also discussed that student-athletes are choosing to be in a more regulated industry. Athletes already agree to having physical exams, appearance guidelines, and other rules related to their respective programs. This drug testing policy falls under these policies, especially as the drug use was suspected, and that drug use puts children at risk.

Children have always been afforded fewer rights, and this case was no different. The issue of privacy was also involved in the case. Because the male students remained fully clothed with their backs to the sample attendant, and the females went in a stall, with the attendant outside, the court deemed that the students had sufficient privacy. They also cited that interscholastic athletics implies communal undress, and that falls into a situation where the students are choosing to be in sports, and agreeing to advanced