The Ministry of Education yesterday unveiled plans to introduce saliva drug test kits to stop synthetic drug use in schools.
The ministry plans to deploy the kits as early as September and would use them to screen students for drugs, with their parents’ consent, Department of Student Affairs and Special Education head Hsu Chia-chien (許嘉倩) told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the Education and Culture Committee at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Faster-acting saliva tests are needed to detect etomidate and other narcotics that metabolize too quickly for urine tests to detect, Hsu said.
Photo: CNA
According to the ministry’s plan, schools would test students who admit to using drugs, are being investigated by law enforcement or have a history of substance abuse, she said.
A student who tests positive for drug use in a saliva test would undergo a urinalysis to confirm the results, which would enable special educational intervention and guidance, Hsu said.
The ministry estimates that schools would need 20,000 saliva test kits, which are capable of detecting eight types of drugs, she said.
The ministry is in the process of obtaining the kits from the National Police Agency, she said.
Guidance counselors and military instructors would be the main personnel tasked with using the test kits, she said.
Right now, schools can only require a student to undergo a urinalysis without parental consent if they have a history of drug abuse, have been previously suspended from school for drug use or give teachers cause to suspect them of drug use.
School principals must authorize the placement of such students under special scrutiny before urine tests can be conducted without parental consent.
Outside of those circumstances, students cannot be tested without the consent of their parents or legal guardians.
The ministry is pressing lawmakers to pass amendments that would allow schools and police greater latitude to test underage people for drug use, Hsu said.
However, such changes are unlikely to happen in the near future, she added.
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