The Camden County Board of Education in Georgia has proposed a student drug testing policy, but fears that a law being considered by Congress would force school officials to involve law enforcement rather than get students into treatment, the The proposed drug testing policy would require any student participating in extracurricular activities or requesting a parking pass to first undergo a drug test. Students who test positive would attend counseling sessions and further drug testing, but would not be subject to additional penalties unless they tested positive more than once.

Under the proposed policy, results from the drug tests would not be placed in the student’s academic record, turned over to law enforcement, or kept later than one year after the student’s graduation or 18th birthday.

However, under the Defending America’s Most Vulnerable Act, currently being considered by Congress, school officials would be required to report student drug use to enforcement officials. The Board of Education cited this potential, undesired consequence as a reason not to adopt the proposed drug testing policy, which aims to prevent and treat student drug use, not to provide criminal evidence that would ruin students’ lives.