BOARDS CONSIDER DRUG TESTS FOR TEACHER HIRES

After Acerra Debacle, Current Staff Won't Be Targeted. But It Could
Become Pre-Employment Policy In Region.

Almost a year after a Bethlehem middle school principal was arrested
for dealing drugs out of his office, local school boards are
considering drug testing to ensure it doesn't happen to them.

"That's a strong case supporter right there," Northampton Area School
District board member Brett Reichelderfer said of John Acerra, who
was arrested last February and sentenced in October to two to four
years in prison.

The Easton and Bethlehem Area school districts are considering
pre-employment drug-testing policies for their teachers and staff
similar to one passed three months ago by the Northampton Area School District.

The Bethlehem district considered a random drug-testing policy last
year shortly after Acerra was arrested. District officials relented
when a solicitor said it would violate the constitutional rights of teachers.

But testing them before they are hired would be acceptable, legal experts say.

Steven Miller, Northampton Area School District's solicitor, said the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the right of
school districts to drug test teacher and staff applicants, in the
1998 case Knox County Education Association vs. Knox County Board of Education.

Miller said the court found because they hold a "safety-sensitive
position," teachers should expect their privacy rights to be at least
slightly reduced.

"Anyone who works for that kind of a regulated institution knows at
the very beginning that certain rights they might otherwise have in
other settings might not necessarily apply in a schools setting,"
Miller said.But Larry Frankel, legislative director for the ACLU of
Pennsylvania, said even a pre-employment policy could open up school
districts to potential lawsuits.

"If somebody says, 'I applied for a job and they said they wouldn't
give to me because of this,' there could be problems for the school
district," Frankel said.

"Unless you have a reasonable suspicion that somebody is engaged in
illegal activity, you really should have the right to be left alone," he said.

Easton Area School Board members will discuss a pre-employment policy
at their Thursday board meeting.

Bethlehem Area Superintendent Joseph Lewis said he has written a
policy draft and will present it to his board in upcoming months.

Neither board is considering a random drug-testing policy.

Although federal guidelines require bus drivers to submit to random
drug tests, the Bethlehem board solicitor found last year teachers
and staff are protected from random tests by the Fourth Amendment.

But Bethlehem board member Judith Dexter said no court has ever
firmly settled the matter.

"At some point, a school district is going to push the issue and
maybe it's going be challenged, and then we're going to have it
settled," said Dexter, a disability attorney. "I look forward to
seeing it fully considered and thoughtfully hashed out."

Easton Area's Acting Superintendent Joseph Kish said if a district
wanted to try implementing random testing, the teachers union would
have to agree to it during contract negotiations.

Easton Area's teachers contract was approved last month with no such provision.

Kevin Deely, Easton Area Education Association president, said the
union had no problems with Easton implementing a drug-screening
policy for prospective employees.

"That's the district's prerogative," Deely said. "We don't want
teachers in the classroom who are abusing substances and the district
obviously doesn't want that either."