PA School Boards Consider Drug Testing For New Hires

Two school districts in Pennsylvania are considering adoption of a drug testing policy for new teacher hires following the 2007 arrest of a principal in a nearby district for drug trafficking.

The Express-Times reported on Jan. 14, 2008 ("Boards Consider Drug Tests for Teacher Hires") that "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."

According to the Express-Times, "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."

The Express-Times noted that "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.'"