Carroll County to start randomly drug testing students

CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. — Students at the five high schools in the Carroll County school system will be subject to random drug testing starting next school year.

“It was done as more of a deterrent,” said Assistant Superintendent Terry Jones of the unanimous Board of Education decision.

The board has been studying this issue since last September.  It will include students in grades nine through 12, or roughly around 4,000 students.

Jones explained that it will be only for the kids who participate in athletics, any type of extracurricular non-athletic program and those who drive and park on campus.

Parent Allison Johnson says this is a move in the right direction.

“We have a lot of athletes that are doing things that they shouldn’t be doing and we have a lot of coaches that are upholding it, so I think going into schools doing random drug tests, I think it’s a good thing,” Johnson said.

Up to 80 students a month will be tested on campus, picked by random ID number selection.

Villa Rica High School junior Trey Farmer says he is not concerned.

“I don’t have nothing to hide, but some people may be offended because they may have something to hide, on the other hand,” Farmer said.

The program starts in the fall.

WSBTV