Do Montana Parents Support Breathalyzers at School Events?

I saw a Tweet today from a user named @Shenanigans that brought up an interesting conversation about breathalyzers at school events. The situation she shared involved blood alcohol testing at her kids' high school homecoming (note, this did not happen in Montana).

Her point seems to highlight the spread of germs, but I looked at it from a different perspective. Should Montana schools be using breathalyzers at school events? Does it really curb underage drinking? Is it even legal?

Parental rights.

Ever since COVID, many Montana parents have seemed to take a sudden interest in school policy around the state. Issues like masks, CRT, sexual identity topics, certain books in libraries, etc. have become hot-button issues and talking points for the media. The majority of parents surely condone underage drinking. Everyone knows how dangerous it can be and it is obviously illegal. I also know some parents who would come uncorked if they found out their kid was kicked out of an event after being forced to take a breathalyzer.

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Is it legal?

"How could they do this to my kid without my consent?!" Well, schools can do a lot of things that you might not necessarily agree with. Aavo.com, a legal advice forum where attorneys answer user-submitted questions fielded this exact scenario of breathalyzers at a football game. One lawyer answered,

I can tell you that school officials are given a broad grant of power under the legal doctrine of "in loco parentis," which is laying for "in place of the parent." Generally speaking, so long as a reasonable or rational basis exists for the act, and the act wouldn't shock the conscience of a reasonable person, the act is considered legal.

So yeah, they certainly can make your kid blow. What do you think? Would you support breathalyzers at things like Winter formal or sporting events? Would it honestly deter underage drinking, or would it just drive the students elsewhere? Is it better to have under-the-influence teens in a somewhat controlled environment or have them off-campus drinking somewhere else?