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Drug testing has become a common procedure in some areas of society, from teachers and athletes to professionals in a wide range of industries. More recently, the question of drug testing for students has been raised, as some schools have begun to institute random drug testing in high schools and even middle schools. Is drug testing an effective way to keep students “clean” or is it a blatant violation of students’ privacy rights? The answer to that question may depend on who you ask.

An Overview of Drug Testing

Drug testing can be done through a variety of methods, using samples that include urine or a few strands of hair. Common drugs tested for include marijuana, cocaine, steroids, opiates and amphetamines. Alcohol is not a substance that can be detected using standard drug testing procedures, since the substance does not stay in the body long enough to show up in test results. Current use of alcohol can be tested by breathalyzers and other testing methods.

Drug testing can be performed as a standard procedure, such as prior to hiring an applicant for a job. Some schools drug test teachers and have found positive results. Testing can also be done on an individual if substance use is suspected, due to suspicious behavior or actions of the individual. Another option is random testing, which can be done on any individual at any time, without warning. It is the random testing approach that has typically come under fire

Is Student-Based Funding Coming to Georgia Schools?

As schools look at various options to improve school and student performance, one variable consistently comes to the forefront – money. While many educators assert that bigger budgets could solve many of the problems in education today, politicians at all levels agree that more money is probably not needed in the foreseeable future for most school districts across the country. In place of more funding, some areas are now looking at different ways to allocate the money that is currently available. Student-based funding is the new buzzword for school districts interested in getting the money to the schools and students who need it most. Now, Georgia is joining the student-based funding bandwagon.

What is Student-Based Funding?

Student-based funding is a method of allotting funding to school districts and even individual schools based on the needs of individual students. This contrasts with traditional school funding determined by educational programs, creating an average amount spent on every student within a given district. Proponents of student-based funding argue that traditional funding results in disparities throughout the educational system, as schools with high-need students are left wanting resources. Student-based funding aims to reduce those disparities without needing additional money, which educators regularly champion.

This video offers a discussion of student-based funding.

According to the Annenberg Institute for School Reform website, student-based funding begins by assigning specific weights to each type of

The New Year may see more than the return to school for New York City’s students. It may also usher in a school bus strike that threatens to leave thousands of New York students without transportation to and from every day. While a school bus strike is far from imminent, according to most accounts, concerns over a strike have continued to grow throughout the city as parents, students, and city officials wait to see how the rising conflict will shake out.

City Bids Spark Strike Threats

The city’s decision to solicit bids for lower contract rates from bus companies is at the core of the controversy. The bids were launched at the impending termination of the current contract with school bus drivers, which is scheduled to expire in 2013. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told and other media channels the bids were necessary to reduce transportation costs for the school system. However, current bus drivers said the city is not promising to protect the jobs of current drivers based on seniority as it goes through the process of cutting costs.

CBS New York reports that New York City currently spends around $1 billion on the transportation of around 152,000 students daily. That number had increased significantly over the last three decades when the cost of bussing students was around $7.1 million. The 1,100 busses that currently run throughout the city are operated by 52 private companies, according to the

In the aftermath of the tragedy that struck Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut last month, a stream of hoax threats was received by school districts across the country. District officials took those threats very seriously, however, launching investigations and school lockdowns nationwide with the intent of protecting students at all costs. In Florida, threats made by a bank employee and a student both resulted in action by school and district officials. However, the handling of those threats raised the eyebrows – and the ire – of some of the individuals involved.

Threats Circulate Social Networks

reports that a number of phony threats surfaced in Florida shortly after the Connecticut shootings. Many of those threats were circulated on social websites like Facebook, according to some of the students that reported the threats. However, officials were unable to verify the threats through this medium, since the posts appear to have been deleted before officers were alerted. At least a portion of those threats were posed against schools in Coral Springs, Pompano Beach and Davie.

also reported on threats received throughout the state, in the counties of Brevard, Seminole, Orange, and Volusia. At one prep school in Orlando, authorities were called when a woman carried a sword onto school property. Police departments across the state said that every threat received was taken very seriously in light of recent events in Connecticut. That meant several area