Missouri School to Cut Kids' Hair for Drug Test

60 strands will be cut from students—and participation is mandatory
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 31, 2013 6:45 AM CST
Missouri School to Kids: Give Us Hair for Drug Test
A Jesuit high school in Kansas City will require all students to submit to random drug tests, beginning next academic year.   (Shutterstock)

One Kansas City high school is taking the war on drugs to the next level. Beginning this fall, Rockhurst High School will require students to submit their hair for random drug tests, reports KSHB. In a somewhat bizarre-sounding process, a staff member who happens to be a barber will cut about 60 strands from randomly selected students' heads or bodies. The Jesuit institution will then test for everything from cocaine and PCP to pot and signs of binge drinking; the test is said to be able to identify consumption in the last 90 days.

Positive tests will result in the student's guidance counselor bringing in the parents and student for a discussion, to "get him help if necessary," says Rockhurst's principal. The school administration will not be informed of positive tests nor will universities find out. "Nothing prohibits it," the legal director for the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri tells CBS News. "But it is a colossal waste of money." (More random drug testing stories.)

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