EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OPPOSES DRUG TESTS

Saturday, March 01, 2003 - ASPEN - The Colorado Education Association
opposes a proposal by Aspen's school superintendent to randomly test
teachers for drugs.

Superintendent Tom Farrell made the suggestion Monday after a middle school
teacher was arrested on a charge of possessing less than an ounce of
marijuana. Two 12-year-old boys also were suspended from middle school
because another student said they had cocaine.

Amy Cord, a language teacher at Aspen Middle School, was arrested near a
nightclub Jan. 31. A March 18 hearing is set for Cord, who is still
teaching.

Jeanne Beyer, spokeswoman for the Colorado Education Association, said no
other teachers in Colorado are subject to random drug tests.

"In individual instances, there is drug testing, but it's for a reasonable
cause," she said.

"There should be testing only if an administrator has a reason to believe a
teacher is using drugs," Beyer said.