COULD TEACHERS BE DRUG TESTED?

CHEYENNE - Laramie County School District 1 does not have a policy to
randomly test teachers for drugs.

Whether it could happen rests more with decisions from the U.S.
Supreme Court than the school district.

Last week, federal authorities arrested a teacher and a teacher's
assistant in Cheyenne on drug-related charges.

In light of that, LCSD1 will review how it supervises, hires,
evaluates and monitors employees, Superintendent Ted Adams said
Tuesday. "We need to review all our processes," he said.

Officials also will look at whether it would be possible to randomly
test employees, he added, noting there have been barriers to doing
that in the past.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in different cases that subjecting
government employees to random tests violates their privacy and
creates unlawful search and seizure.

John Lyttle, LCSD1 assistant superintendent of human resources, has
asked lawyers for the district to review the question.

Adams said that if it's legally feasible to move forward with a
drug-testing policy, the district could do so.

"The district is devastated by any kind of allegation like this,"
Adams said.

"I clearly, from my personal perspective, would be happy to have drug
testing" of everyone in the district on a random basis, Adams said.
"But there are challenges associated with doing that kind of testing,"
he said, referring to past court decisions.

The district "clearly needs to look at the options to protect children
and to protect the institution and build our trust with parents," he
added.

LCSD1 does drug and alcohol tests on employees for cause. The district
can test employees if there is a suspicion of drug use.

If a person refuses to take the test for cause, it's considered a
positive test. The employee is subject to discipline, including
firing, Lyttle said.

Federal law requires districts to randomly test bus drivers or any
employee who transports children, Lyttle added.

Coming up with a random drug-testing policy is a job beyond the scope
of the superintendent or school boards, Adams said. It would take
enabling legislation at the state and national levels.

But the local district can raise the question, Adams
said.

Random testing would not be a solution in itself, he cautioned. The
practice wouldn't catch drug dealers who aren't users.

District officials hire the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation
to do background checks before the district hires someone. LCSD1
officials also check a registry to screen potential employees for
child abuse.

LCSD1 Trustee Al Atkins does not favor random drug testing for
employees. He said he doesn't think it is necessary.

"If we had a problem, I'd be in favor of it," he said.

But Trustee Dale Vosler supports testing everyone, from the top on
down. Whether it could happen depends on what the law will allow, he
added.

"I think it is something the board certainly needs to discuss with Ted
(Adams)," board Chairwoman Jan Stalcup said.

The school board needs to look at places that tried it and see how it
worked, she said.

"It's something we need to look at seriously," Stalcup said. "We take
the safety of our children very seriously."

Based on an Internet search, Hawaii is the first to enact a statewide
mandatory drug-testing policy for school employees like teachers and
administrative workers. The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii
plans to challenge the policy.

Linda Burt, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union
of Wyoming, objects to random testing because it violates rights and
isn't cost effective.

"We have a lot of information that says random drug testing isn't that
effective," she said.

"What is really effective is good employee human resources programs,"
Burt said. These programs provide for education, treatment and good
supervision of employees to spot problems and get help.

The city of Cheyenne, Laramie County and the state of Wyoming can
require employees to do random drug tests if there is cause.

But only select groups of their employees n like those who work in
safety jobs n are subject to random drug tests.

Rich Wiederspahn, director of human resources for the city of
Cheyenne, said people applying for safety jobs n like police officers,
firefighters and city bus drivers n must take drug tests before they
are hired.

Employees in these jobs n and those with Commercial Driver's Licenses
n are subject to random drug tests. Other city employees are not.

An opinion from the Wyoming attorney general in June 2007 concluded
it's not reasonable to have random drug testing for public employees
unless there is evidence of drug problems at work.

Emily Smith, human resources director for Laramie County, said people
have to be drug tested before the county will hire them.

Only county employees who have CDL licenses in the Public Works
Department are subject to random drug tests, she said.