Questions are being raised about whether principals in B.C. schools are qualified to administer breathalyzers.

Last week, two students at Fort St. James Secondary School in northern B.C. were suspended after their principal administered a breathalyzer test, which showed trace amounts of alcohol.

Forensic scientist Nizar Shajani, who serves as an expert witness on the devices in court, doubts school principals are properly trained to administer the tests.

"I don't think they should be used by people who are not trained in the proper procedures," Shajani said.

"You have to make sure that somebody hasn't consumed alcohol within 15 minutes , or alcohol products like cough syrup, or candy with alcohol in it."

Used for two decades

Canadian Civil Liberties Association spokesperson Abby Deschman says administering breathalyzers in schools could violate the rights of students.

"We know that people have a right under Section 8 of the Charter [of Rights and Freedoms] to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, and our courts have found that taking breathalyzer samples from individuals can violate this right."

But Jameel Aziz, the president of the B.C. Principals and Vice Principals Association, says the use of breathalyzers in schools is nothing new.

"Breathalyzers have actually been used in schools for probably the past two decades," Aziz said.

"Often, it's used as an offer to say, 'Look, you're telling me that you haven't been drinking and every sign, including your breath, your agitation, etc., says to me that you have. Here's a tool that we can use to determine if there's alcohol in your system or not.' We're not interested whether if its .02 or or .04."

B.C.'s Education Ministry says there's no provincial policy surrounding breathalyzers in schools, but rather individual districts make their own decisions about using the device.