Can Students Be Tested for Blood Alcohol Content?

Posted on: September 22, 2008 at 11:03 a.m.

In Milford Connecticut, Milford's school board has adopted a new policy that students are subject to breath testing for alcohol at school functions. Under the policy, students entering a public school-sponsored dance will have to take a Breathalyzer test. The policy has been adopted as an effort to cut down on teen drinking.

The policy also allows school administrators to breath test individual high schoolers during the school day if there's reason to suspect they've been drinking alcohol. School officials say if a student refuses to take the Breathalyzer, the student could be suspended for 10 days. The Breathalyzers will not be used at sporting and other school events.

There are Constitutional issues that arise from such a law, but criminal issues as well. Not necessarily the criminality of testing students, but whether or not these tests are even useful in measuring the Blood Alcohol Content of a person with any real accuracy.

For example, a recent study revealed that diabetics may test positive for a high blood alcohol content, regardless of their drinking habits. BAC tests do not actually measure the alcohol in the blood. Rather, they use infrared beams of light. The light beams are absorbed by any chemical compound in the breath sample (including ethyl alcohol) that contains the

Tagged as: california criminal laws, violent crimes defense

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Can Students Be Tested for Blood Alcohol Content?

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