Should Newtown High School Use Breathalyzers at the Prom?

Underage drinking equals a parent's worst nightmare. Keeping your kid safe is all you ever want to do. Connecticut High Schools seek ways to help.

Breathalyzer tests, "zero tolerance" policy's for alcohol and drug use, taking responsibility for your actions, and of course setting a good example for others. It all boils down to finding solutions for the growing number of teenage drinkers.

I don't care how young or old you are, the lesson learned over the preventable loss of a friend or family member due to drinking stays with you forever. That said, it makes me cringe to think of the number of teens I know who still take risks with drinking and driving. It boggles my mind with how invincible they think they are and how they adopt the, it's not going to happen to me, theory.

Prom season is ramping up, and for the longest time it's meant the fear of underage drinking. In the last 10 years or so, many high schools around Connecticut have introduced the use of different devices to monitor drinking at school events.

The Danbury News Times, reports that the principal of Newtown High School sent a letter to parents stating that the school has plans to use blood-alcohol-level-testers at the junior prom on Friday. The story says that the testers will be used on a as needed basis, and the school wants to ensure the prom remains a sober one.

I'm a graduate of Danbury High School, I won't tell you when it was, suffice it to say long enough ago that no one was given a breathalyzer test at school functions. Seeing as I have no children I had no clue as to what actions Danbury takes. So I reached out to DHS's current principal Mr. Donovan to ask him. He told me that the Danbury Public Schools adopted a policy about the use of passive alcohol sensors in 2007.

All of this made me ponder all of us being personally responsible for our actions. Hard lessons should be the ones that shape who we grow to be. But then I come back to the knowledge that most young adults think bad things will never happen to them, and my heart says we need to take any measure we can to stop them from harming themselves, or anyone else.