TEACHER DRUG TESTING A THREAT TO BASIC RIGHTS

Lingle Plan A Cynical Strategy To Win Points, Embarrass BOE, HSTA

Contrary to some misguided commentators, Gov. Linda Lingle's attempt
to saddle our public school teachers with random drug testing is an
overtly cynical strategy, designed to win political points by
embarrassing the Hawaii State Teachers Association and Board of
Education and at the expense of hardworking educators' fundamental rights.

Such testing would do nothing to make our students any safer, but
would most certainly deprive them of further critical services and
supplies and leave taxpayers footing the bill.

Remarkably, Gov. Lingle appears to have relished placing our
dedicated teachers and, particularly, their union between a rock and
a hard place. It is no secret that, like many of us, teachers
struggle with Hawai'i's cost of living - about 30 percent more than
the Mainland. While the raises offered to entice our teachers toward
random drug testing were not too substantial - 4 percent per year for
two years - many teachers simply could not afford to turn them down.
This placed the HSTA in the untenable position of having to accept
random drug testing in violation of teachers' constitutional rights
or give up sorely needed raises.

The teachers, in weighing whether to ratify the contract, confronted
the same nasty dilemma. Their response, however, has been
mischaracterized in the public debate. Of the 13,404 educators
eligible to vote, only 8,449 cast ballots. While a majority of voting
members (5,176) ratified the proposed contract, these "yes" votes
constitute a minority - 43 percent - of eligible votes. In no way did
the majority of HSTA members consent to relinquish their rights and
accept random drug testing: 57 percent either voted against the
contract or did not vote at all.

The governor's draconian attempt to deprive teachers of their basic
rights through random drug testing might be justified if it would
increase student safety or, perhaps, if it did not violate both the
U.S. and Hawai'i constitutions. However, it fails on both accounts.
There is simply no reason to think that Hawai'i's teachers ever have
or would imperil students through drug involvement. When HSTA asked
the BOE to "describe any incidents, occurrences, or reports
substantiating suspicions held by the BOE of illegal use by teachers
of illicit drugs or alcohol at the workplace from January 1, 2000, to
the present," the board answered that there were none.

Hawai'i's teachers are highly dedicated to the advancement and
well-being of their students and among the least likely to be
involved with drugs. Our teachers are under near constant observation
from both students and their fellow educators and administrators.
Thus, any association with drugs would be readily observed and
addressed. The teachers and their union have no objection whatsoever
to a policy of drug testing based on reasonable suspicion, which is
constitutional.

Hawai'i courts have held that the Hawai'i and U.S. constitutions may
permit random drug testing of police officers and firefighters where
drug abuse clearly threatens both their fellow employees and public
safety. Other danger-fraught situations where such testing may be
upheld include airline pilots and nuclear power plant operators. No
court has ever approved a policy of random drug testing for all
teachers and, in fact, no other state in the nation has ever even
attempted such a rash step.

The HSTA is rightly seeking a declaration from the Board of Education
that random drug testing of our public school teachers is not
required. The ACLU stands ready to bring a lawsuit against the state
should random teacher testing ever move forward. While the ACLU
should easily prevail in this lawsuit, it is also likely that the
case will, nonetheless, consume significant state resources at a time
of increasingly strained budgets.

Though the governor's random-drug-testing ploy may inevitably be shot
down in the courtroom, it should just as clearly be rejected because
of its impact in the classroom. Imposing costly requirements for
random drug testing on a school system struggling to fund
infrastructure and essential programs is ludicrous. Gov. Lingle's
cynicism is evident by her unwillingness to fund this pet project.
All of us, and especially our governor, should put the best interests
of Hawai'i's students first.