INDUSTRY NEWS
Random Drug, Alcohol Testing of Teachers Debated
In rural Graham County, North Carolina, teachers are awaiting a state appeals court decision regarding whether they will be required to submit to random tests for drugs and alcohol. The small school district that they work for is one of a small group of school districts across the nation that want to establish random drug tests of teachers and other school employees.
Several Kentucky school districts already perform random drug and alcohol tests on their teachers. Teachers in Kanawha County, West Virginia are awaiting a federal district court decision regarding whether they'll be subjected to such testing. The idea is also on hold in Hawaii, as a state board prepares to make a ruling on the matter.
Opponents of random testing in Graham County claim that the testing violates teachers' privacy rights and that taking the test would take away from time they should be spending in a classroom. And it's an argument that they've successfully made before. In North Carolina, a lawsuit by the state teachers' association prevented a 2007 start for random drug testing in Graham County schools.
Former Graham County school board chairman Mitch Colvard pushed for the random drug testing policy in 2006 because in his job as a paramedic he says he saw a worsening local drug problem. The testing efforts have been further spurred by recent incidents of teachers, both in and out of the classroom, being found in possession of drugs or being accused of drug use.
(Source: http://www.usatoday.com)
| 
