HOUSTON -Governor Rick Perry is expected to sign off on legislation making Texas the first state to make all of its high school athletes eligible for random steroid testing.
The law passed the Texas Senate recently, calling for random testing of 3 percent of the state’s 740,000 prep-level student-athletes; approximately 22,000 in total.
The measure is the first in the nation to make a state’s entire high school student-athlete population eligible for testing. New Jersey passed a law last year limiting steroid testing to athletes making the playoffs. According to a Boston Globe report, several states, including California, Illinois, Florida and New Mexico, have been discussing implementing their own steroid testing. California legislators recently shot down a proposal to test approximately 20,000 high school athletes randomly for steroids.
According to the Boston Globe, specialists believe 750,000 or more youngsters nationwide will use steroids before graduating high school.
