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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Cheyenne Mountain High School will begin drug testing its students next fall.

Every student in ninth through 12th grades will be eligible for the drug testing, but it will be done on a voluntary basis, decided on by each student's parents.

If a parent wants to test their teen, they will pay a $30 fee for the year, which covers lab costs. All the names of the volunteered students will go into a pool and from there several names will periodically be selected at random to be tested.

The school district said the goal of the program is not meant to catch students, but to act as a deterrent and support them in making good decisions.

District 12 Superintendent Walt Cooper added this is not a reaction to any specific incident.

"We've been talking for almost two years about student wellness in general and then over the course of the 20 months we really started to ramp up what we could do in terms of interventions," he said.

If a student tests positive for drugs, his or her parking and extra-curricular privileges will be restricted incrementally on a three-strike system.

"On the first offense it's a suspension from 20 percent of the season. Second offense is suspension for 365 days and the parking lot privileges mirrors that in terms of time. On the third offense, third strike, it's for the duration of time at Cheyenne Mountain High School," explained Cooper.

Of course, these consequences are different than those a student faces if he or she is suspected to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol at school or a school event.

However, the very fact a drug test indicates potential behavior away from school has some wondering whether school officials are overstepping their boundaries.

"I would counter that to say is it the school's business to always attempt to keep kids safe? Absolutely," said Cooper. "Certainly we'll be criticized for overstepping our boundaries, I understand that, but as I've said many times I'll deal with that criticism if it helps keep kids safe," added the superintendent.

A few of the parents FOX21 News spoke with said they have no problem with the tests since they require the parents' permission. The majority of parents reporters spoke with said they believe the school is overstepping their boundaries, but feel it's a necessary evil in this case.

The school district said in addition to implementing the drug testing program they plan to also review and ramp up their health education programs.