Starting in December, the Palm Springs Unified School District will use drug-detecting dogs at its middle and high school campuses.
The dogs will not search actual students, but will sniff backpacks and their personal belongings, according to the Desert Sun.
"Our focus is not to catch students with drugs. Our goal is to keep drugs from coming on the campus," district Security Manager Roy Hill told the newspaper.
Up to 13 percent of district students in grades seven through eleven said they used marijuana on school property, according to 2006-08 California Healthy Kids survey. In the last two years, the district has seen a 17 percent rise in the number of students suspended for drug-related violations, district Director of Child Welfare and Attendance Jane Mills told the newspaper.
Although district policy allows for the drug-sniffing dogs, the American Civil Liberties Union has objected to their use, citing concerns about student privacy.
The drug-detection program's estimated $12,000 cost will be paid using federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) funds, Mills said. As part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, SDFSC monies support school and community programs that prevent violence and the illegal use of drugs, alcohol or tobacco.
