DRUG TEST PROPOSAL PROMPTS THREAT OF ACLU LAWSUIT

THIBODAUX - Enactment of a law requiring drug testing of all
Louisiana public employees would undoubtedly be met with a lawsuit,
an official with the American Civil Liberties Union said.

Any such law would have to be approved by state legislators and
signed by the Governor.

But it was a Lafourche Parish councilman who has floated the
proposal, and wants the Parish Council to formally ask the legislature to act.

District 6 Councilman Lindel Toups' suggestion has -- in addition to
inflaming the ACLU -- drawn the ire of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.

Marjorie Esman, executive director of the ACLU's Louisiana branch,
said in a Friday interview that such a law, if passed into law and
then acted on by any local government -- would result in a suit.

"That don't scare me," Toups said. "I might be barking up the wrong
tree, but I'm not going to slow down on it. If you don't want a drug
test you got something to hide."

The threat follows a letter sent to all nine council members from the
ACLU urging them to kill their proposed resolution of support for the
law, which the organization says violates the Fourth Amendment.
That's the portion of the U.S. Constitution which protects citizens
from unlawful searches and seizures by government.

Article 1, Section 5 of the Louisiana Constitution holds similar protections.

"The job of teachers is to instill respect for our system of laws.
The notion that 'those with nothing to hide have nothing to fear' is
antithetical to our system of justice and renders our most sacred
rights utterly meaningless," Esman wrote.

"Indeed, the best way to protect our students now, as well as to
provide them the tools to protect themselves in the future, is to
instill respect for the Constitution," she added.

Toups' proposal began as a formal request to the Louisiana
legislature to randomly drug test public school employees statewide.

After a decision on the matter was delayed until Nov. 11 out of legal
concerns, Toups said he planned to return with a broadened proposal
to drug test government employees statewide, including parish council members.

Steve Monaghan, President of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers,
called Toups' proposal "ludicrous" and said besides its clear
violation of the U.S. Constitution its cost would heavily outweigh
its benefits.

A drug test administered by a professional agency costs about $45,
not including other costs that grow from it such as defense of the
policy, second tests in case of a false positive and any following litigation.

A congressional study of government workers found that discovery of
each positive drug user cost about $70,000 total in drug testing,
Monaghan said.

The study contested that about 0.5 or 1 percent of people registered
positive results, which doesn't necessarily mean they were using
drugs, Monaghan added.

Three of 10 new teachers in Louisiana leave after five years,
Monaghan said, expressing concern that Toups' proposal could worsen that trend.

"Let's not darken the day by proposing that every teacher, regardless
of their performance, have to submit themselves now to what we
believe, as the ACLU does, is an unreasonable search without any
probable cause," he said.

"It's plagued with problems, as far as cost effectiveness for what
you're doing. Plus when you get into this issue, you look at certain
drugs that are far more dangerous can quickly be out of an individual
system," Monaghan said.

Local educators interviewed on the matter have said Toups is
overstepping his boundaries and interfering with what should be the
school's responsibility.

Toups contends that schools are afraid of backlash and stands by the measure.

"I think the school board ought to be pushing this. They're leaving
it up to us," he said.

But whether his proposal - be it schoolteachers or all government
employees - carries weight is ultimately a decision left to the
Louisiana Legislature. Toups hopes a council vote in favor of the
measure will help steer the legislature into approving it.

"People are calling like crazy," Toups said. "They want it."