Northern Secondary students challenge prom breathalyzer test in court
Posted May 20, 2014 2:37 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Lawyers for two Toronto high school students have filed a court application asking a judge to rule that a proposed mandatory breathalyzer test at their prom next week infringes their constitutional rights.
The court challenge was filed Tuesday in Ontario Superior Court by lawyers working on behalf of two Northern Secondary School students, Brett Gorski and Simon Gillies, who head the school’s student council.
The Toronto District School Board said in an email that the board recently was notified of the legal action and needs time to review the court document.
“In the meantime, we continue to support the use of breathalyzers at proms,” spokesman Ryan Bird said.
In April, Northern Secondary School, at Mount Pleasant Road and Eglinton Avenue East, adopted a plan to make its students take a breathalyzer test before they can enter their prom at the Eglinton Grand on May 29.
The mandatory breathalyzer has the support of Northern Secondary’s parent council, but students who believe their rights are being infringed upon asked the Canadian Civil Liberties Association to weigh in.
On May 9, the CCLA wrote to the school board and school principal urging them to abandon the plan on grounds that it’s unconstitutional and an invasion of an individual’s privacy and dignity.
Malvern Collegiate Institute has had a similar policy in place for 14 years and said it has worked to curb drunkenness and ensure a safe event for students. Other schools opted to make students take a test when they’re suspected of being impaired, the CCLA said.
A hearing date has not yet been disclosed.
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