High School Football Game Ends in Student Booze Tests

NJ superintendent defends decision for blood, urine screening for dozens
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 8, 2017 8:16 AM CDT
High School Defends Testing Dozens of Students for Booze
All of the students in the section were pulled out.   (Getty Images/herreid)

A school official says dozens of students were detained and ordered to undergo blood and urine testing after alcohol was discovered at a New Jersey high school football game, per the AP. In two separate statements on the Randolph Township School District's website, Randolph Superintendent Jennifer Fano says that an open container of beer "fell or was thrown" last Friday night near a student section of the bleachers at Randolph High School. When staff members investigated, they found more "open containers with alcohol" in the student section, and security and administration officials say that section "smelled very strongly of alcohol." Multiple students also appeared "visibly intoxicated," per Fano's remarks.

The students were pulled from the stands and their parents were called so they could be screened for alcohol. The Daily Record quotes "adults with ties to the school district" as saying that as many as 75 students were tested (fewer than five tested positive, per NJ.com). One school board candidate says the school's actions were "disproportionate." Per Fano, administrators "decided, out of an abundance of caution and student safety, to test all the students in that section of the bleachers," as it was difficult to determine which students were under the influence. Students who refused the screening face suspension under school district policy. Fano says investigators are reviewing video posted on social media of students drinking before the game, and she has apologized to the students who tested negative. She says the school board would pay for the cost of testing those students. (More New Jersey stories.)

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