Vernonia School District v. Wayne Acton
515 US 646 (1995)
by
Gillian Sheffy

Facts of the case:

The Vernonia School District mandated drug testing for all athletes as a result of wide-spread drug and alcohol use within the school system. The drug culture appeared to center on the athletes, so district officials held a meeting for parents to discuss a proposed policy of mandatory drug testing. At the beginning of every season all athletes would be tested, and weekly 10% of the athlete population would be randomly drawn to receive testing. A same-sex adult monitor would listen from a distance (outside the stall for females and at least 10 feet behind a clothed male) to ensure that the sample was from the athletes. All samples would be scanned for marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, and amphetamines. The athlete’s parent would have to sign a waiver for the student to receive testing. Only school and athletic administrators viewed the test results and in the event of a positive test no police authorities would receive notification. The policy was adopted and implemented. Seventh grader James Acton’s parents refused to sign the waiver and the school district therefore denied him participation in the athletic program. The Actons brought the case to the district court on the grounds that the testing violated both the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. The district court dismissed the claims but the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that the drug testing policy violated both Amendments along with the Oregon Constitution.

Decision of the court:

The opinion of the court, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, claims the invasion of privacy is not significant enough to violate the Constitution.

Basis for decision:

The basis was the Fourth Amendment as applied to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment. Since the students opted to participate in athletics the Court found the the search was not in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Additionally, athletics have a tendency to be associated with public nudity and openness, and since the search only applied to athletes the method of collecting samples could not be considered an invasion. As minors students have limited Constitutional rights, and the school must take steps to ensure their safety within the learning environment. Student-athletes often possess very few private moments on a sports team: locker rooms, showers, changing areas, and often lavatories are communal areas. The collection of a urine sample was clearly done with discretion so as to merely prevent tampering, not violate the athletes. The Court finds the drug testing policy in Vernonia acceptable due to “the decreased expectation of privacy, the relative unobtrusiveness of the search, and the severity of the need met by the search.”