The Bush administration last year gave 373 public secondary schools funding for random student drug testing, up from 79 two years ago, USA Today reported July 12.

An estimated 225 other schools are conducting testing using private funding, the White House estimates. That's just a tiny fraction of the 28,000 secondary schools in the country, but the combination of federal grant money and a Supreme Court ruling in favor of random drug testing have spurred growth of the practice since 2002. In fiscal year 2007, President Bush is asking Congress for $15 million for grants supporting student drug testing, a proposed 45-percent increase.

Some school officials see parallels with the history of workplace drug testing, which "started slowly and then grew," according to David Evans of the Drug-Free Schools Coalition in New Jersey, where athletes taking part in state tournaments are now being tested for drugs.

A typical drug test costs schools $42, and little is known about the rate of positive tests because of privacy laws. But some schools have expanded testing beyond athletes; the Nettle Creek school district in Hagerstown, Ind., for example, is now randomly testing students who drive to school and those attending dances, proms, or class parties.