BILL TO TEST TEACHERS FOR DRUGS QUESTIONED

Agree or disagree: Should teachers undergo drug tests before they
enter the classroom? State Sen. Fred Hoyt, D-Abbeville, wants to do
just that.

"Here we have teachers, the role models, heroes for our kids, who are
holding the future of Louisiana in their hands, and we don't have a
policy," Hoyt said.

Hoyt said 28 other states require teachers to undergo some kind of
tests for illegal drugs.

"I am not trying to portray teachers as drug users," he said. "We are
simply trying to provide a deterrent from anybody that uses drugs."

Leaders of the state's top two teacher unions disagree. They said
Hoyt's bill has a variety of flaws and would step on the individual
liberties of teachers.

"While the intent of this bill is honorable, we have to do it the
right way," said Tom Tate, chief lobbyist for the Louisiana
Association of Educators.

Tate also said courts have made a distinction between private
companies, where pre-employment drug tests are common, and public
bodies.

"I believe that tests will be challenged -- and successfully
challenged," he told the Senate Education Committee.

Hoyt's bill would require school districts to establish drug-testing
policies before teachers, substitute teachers, bus drivers,
administrators and others who supervise children are hired.

Teachers would pay for the test, estimated to cost about $35.

Critics said that is unfair too.

"I may not have $35 for that test," said Sen. Paulette Irons, D-New
Orleans and a member of the education committee.

Hoyt countered that the test would not apply to everyone who applies
for a teaching job. It would only be a final hurdle if the district
is ready to offer the applicant a job.

"It is like 'Here is a $35,000-a-year job if you pay $35 for drug
screening,'" Hoyt said.

Hoyt said his bill was not triggered by any single incident. But he
said there were 750 cases nationally in which educators were
convicted of substance abuse between 1987-96.

Mike Lucia, executive director of the Louisiana Association of School
Superintendents, said he was a school superintendent for 10 years.
While people prefer to believe otherwise, schools are not immune to
drug problems, he said.

Ferdinand Troullier, field representative for the Louisiana
Federation of Teachers, said drug users could get around the test by
avoiding them before applying for a job, Troullier said.

"I would suggest that you not pass this," he said.

While Hoyt's bill triggered a lengthy, animated debate in a Senate
committee last week, the issue barely registers in school hallways.

Tammy Wood, a teacher in the gifted program at Brownfields Elementary
Magnet School, said the issue has triggered little talk.

"Really and truly, it would not bother me at all if I was a new
teacher coming into the system," Wood said. She does not belong to a
teacher union.

Mark Richterman, principal at Melrose Elementary, said drug tests are
not a big topic.

"I would hope that we would not come to the time where that would be
necessary," Richterman said.

Hoyt hoped his bill would be approved by the Senate Education
Committee last week. Instead, he shelved the measure to resolve
questions that surround it, especially if the bill runs afoul of
court rulings.

Whether the measure sparks a major row or dies a quiet death is unclear.

Hoyt said he is not bothered by criticism that his bill would be
unfair to teachers.

"If in fact it is a personal intrusion to prohibit drug users from
teaching our kids, I think we need to push for that," he said.