About

Welcome to the Student Drug-Testing Institute! The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS) established the Student Drug-Testing Institute (SDTI) in August 2008, to provide timely information on many aspects of student drug-testing (SDT) programs, including the necessary components of developing a SDT program, implementing a confidential and effective program, and sustaining a program to promote drug-free students for the future.

Drug abuse not only interferes with a student's ability to learn, but it can also disrupt the teaching environment, affecting other students as well. SDT programs are foremost prevention programs. Drug testing is one of several tools that schools can use as part of a comprehensive drug prevention effort. Administrators in schools with an SDT program view testing as a deterrent and believe that it gives students a reason to resist peer pressure to use drugs. Drug testing can identify students who have started using drugs so that interventions can occur early, or identify students who already have drug problems, and refer them for assessment and treatment. Schools have the option of randomly testing specific groups of students. Such groups typically include student athletes, students involved in extracurricular competitive activities, and students who, along with their parents, provide written consent to be voluntarily tested.

The Institute is a coordinated, one-stop information resource and will assemble and disseminate the best information and resources using multiple technical assistance delivery methods to a variety of consumers. Consumers who may be interested in learning more about SDT programs may include: students, families, educators, drug testing companies, school board members, media, public officials, attorneys, SDT grantees, researchers and evaluators, athletic coaches, sponsors of extracurricular activities, medical and mental health professionals, state and local education agency employees, guidance counselors, and student assistance counselors.

Technical assistance services may include providing Web-based resource links and databases; sharing lessons learned and practices of districts with SDT programs; bulletins, fact sheets, and electronic media kits; conducting workshops and presentations at national, state, and regional meetings; and conducting webinars about a variety of topics.