Steroid tests in schools
Steroid tests in schools
April 30, 2007
TEXAS is to become the first state to test high school athletes randomly for steroids.
It is the most dramatic step yet in a nationwide backlash against the dangerous muscle-building drugs that have infested locker rooms across America.
The Texas Senate earlier this month approved a plan to test 3 per cent of the state's 740,000 high school athletes, or about 22,000 boys and girls, for steroids every year. The Texas House of Representatives approved a similar measure, which would have an athletic association pay for the testing instead of the state.
Governor Rick Perry has not taken an official position on the legislation.
But politicians expect him to sign the final bill, which would make Texas the first state in the country to make all of its high school athletes eligible for random steroid testing.
New Jersey passed a steroid testing law last year, but it applies only to high school athletes who reach playoff competitions.
