Schools providing free drug-testing kits to parents

School district officials in Nordonia Hills, Ohio are collaborating with the local police department until 31 October, to give free drug-testing kits to the parents and guardians of students.

The initiative is part of Red Ribbon Week, a week-long promotion focusing on drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse awareness.

“We look at all of our students like all of our kids and it’s devastating to us and this community if we lose any of them and we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Casey Wright, the Principal of Nordonia High School. “If they know the test is available, students are less likely to engage in illegal drugs because they know their parents can come in and get that test at any time they want.”

The school district calls the test-kit distribution program SHIELD, and its goal is to give parents and guardians a tool to determine whether their child is at risk. In its press release, the school district said that it believes parents are the main factor in deterring drug and alcohol abuse by students.

Deaths from drug abuse in Ohio are a daily occurrence. Current statistics show that accidental drug overdoses the main cause of accidental deaths in the state. During the first half of 2017, emergency rooms in the Summit County area, where the school district is located, treated 1,269 incidents of drug overdoses, with 15% of those treated aged between 18 and 24.