PROPOSAL TO DRUG TEST EDUCATORS DELAYED FOR TWO WEEKS

THIBODAUX - A Lafourche Parish councilman pushing for random statewide
drug tests for public-school teachers said he plans to expand his
proposal to include council members and other government employees.

Councilman Lindel Toups, who represents Gheens, has urged his fellow
council members to send a formal request for random drug tests to the
state Legislature.

Council members were set to vote on the matter Tuesday night, but
concerns that it may violate the U.S. Constitution prompted them to
delay a decision for two weeks.

Toups said Tuesday night that he plans to return with a broadened
request seeking drug tests for all public-school and government
employees, including anyone who's paid by state or parish tax dollars.

"The people want this," Toups said, adding that about 85 percent of
callers to a local radio station supported the move.

Toups said a former public-school employee alerted him to heavy drug
use among faculty, prompting his request.

But school boards and many other government entities are regulated by
the state, meaning tests can only be performed if the Legislature
passes a law approving it.

Civil-liberties groups say the move would violate the 14th and fourth
amendments, which protect against search and seizure by government.

Councilman Joe Fertitta said council members could be overstepping
their responsibilities and challenging the nation's legal foundation.

"Besides violating the fourth and 14th amendments, we have a School
Board that should police their own employees," he said. "I would have
to vote no."

Toups fired back.

"The School Board don't do it because they're scared. They claim it's
political suicide," he said. "And anybody who don't want to vote for
this resolution has to be scared of something or hiding something."

In an interview last week, School Board spokesman Floyd Benoit said he
approves of Toups' proposal, provided it comes with guidelines.

"We could surely use some help and some guidelines and some policies,"
Benoit said, noting that drug use is equally prevalent among school
employees as it is in the rest of society.

Two educators interviewed disagreed. Eugene Dial, Nicholls State
University's Student Affairs director, and South Lafourche High School
Principal Mary Curole, said the schools' own policies are sufficient.

If the council passes Toups' request and the Legislature follows suit,
it is believed Louisiana would become the only state to administer
random drug tests to government employees at every level.

Hawaii had been the first and only state to with random drug-testing
policies in the public schools.

Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle approved a short-lived policy in 2007 to
subject 13,500 public-school employees, including teachers, librarians
and many administrative workers, to random drug testing.

It failed several months later, after the American Civil Liberties
Union challenged the policy and the state's Education Board followed
by refusing to approve $400,000 needed to administer drug tests.

The ACLU said the proposal violated educators' constitutional right to
privacy, was ineffective and costly.

Attempts to reach the organization were unsuccessful.

The Council's next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 11.