Elaine Bogart had no second thoughts about subjecting her children to drug tests.
When the Santa Clarita mother learned of a program through her school district that allows parents to track the results of random tests of their children's urine, she enrolled her two teenagers right away.
"It was my decision," she said. "They do have some rights, but I'm responsible for them. I need to make sure they're safe."
The William S. Hart Union High School District program is believed to be the only one of its kind in the country, according to program administrators. While school drug testing as a condition for participation in such activities as sports is not unusual, Hart's program has the distinction of exclusively serving parents who want to monitor their offspring — whether said offspring like it or not.
The district is seeking to expand the unusual program and has set a goal of having hundreds more students sign up in coming years. The students are given no choice: If their parents enroll them in the Comprehensive Alcohol and Drug Reduction and Education, or CADRE, program, they must submit to urine tests. If they skip a test, parents are notified by program administrators.
More than 2,000 Santa Clarita students participate in the free program — about one-tenth of the district's 23,000 junior high and high school students. "We would love to have it grow every year by 3%," said Kathy Hunter, Hart's director of student services.
Civil rights advocates are dubious.
