Supreme Court won't hear Missouri college drug-testing case

KANSAS CITY (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a Missouri technical college's challenge of a ruling that its mandatory drug testing policy is unconstitutional when applied to all students.

The nation's highest court ended the six-year legal dispute by refusing without comment to intervene at the request of 1,200-student State Technical College of Missouri, the 56-year-old school formerly known as Linn State Technical College.

The college, based in Linn in central Missouri, has insisted that fostering a drug-free environment amounted to a "special need" justifying departure from the usual warrant and probable-cause requirements. The American Civil Liberties Union countered that such universal drug testing was unconstitutionally invasive.

Under a ruling last December by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that quashed the college's blanket drug-screening policy as a condition of enrollment, the school can test students enrolled in a handful of programs with public safety concerns. Those include heavy machinery and aviation maintenance.

Read more: http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/missouri/2017/06/05/supreme-court-wont-hear-missouri-college-drug-testing-case/102540220/