Drug testing teachers
Several school districts around the country are trying to implement drug testing , not of students, but of teachers. North Carolina, West Virginia and Hawaii are trying to join at least four school districts in Kentucky that require teachers to submit to random alcohol and other drug testing.
Hawaii recently made random drug testing a part of its teachers’ contract, with testing to begin this year. To placate the teacher’s union they simply paid them off. In exchange for submitting to the random drug tests the teachers got a big pay increase. During negotiations, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle called the testing provision “nonnegotiable.”
Remember, we are not talking about testing with cause here. If a teacher behaves such a manner as to suggest strongly he or she may be drunk or otherwise intoxicated on the job a good case can be made to order a drug test. Failing that test would be proof of a problem and appropriate steps, (leave of absence, counseling, whatever) should be taken. We don’t want intoxicated people teaching our children just as we don’t want them driving busses or flying airplanes. These schools, however, are talking random drug tests.
The biggest problem with drug testing (see; Drug Testing in the Workplace on this blog) is that it doesn’t necessarily tell you if the subject is under the influence of some substance or simply has used it in the recent past. Some drugs remain in the body (and will reveal themselves in a drug test) far longer than others.
Let’s assume that alcohol, one of the drugs to be screened for in these random drug tests, remains in amounts large enough to show up in a test for a week. An excellent teacher with an unblemished record submits to a random drug test as per the rules in her contract . That teacher had two glasses of wine with dinner on Friday night and went to an old friend’s wedding on Saturday where she consumed several drinks over the course of the event. She slept late and did laundry and housework on Sunday and was tested on Monday. She was not drunk or even hung over on Monday but she “failed” the test. Is that fair? Does her use of intoxicants on her own time affect her ability to teach my child? Are we paying that teacher for her services as a teacher for a part of each schoolday or do we taxpayers own her? Can we expect to regulate her behavior 24/7 ?
As it happens the drug that remains stored in the body’s fat cells the longest is marijuana. Smoke some marijuana on the weekend ( as some 40 million Americans do) and you well may test positive days later, long after any mind-altering effects have worn off. Do cocaine on the weekend and it will probably be gone by the time you’re tested. Same with heroin. Same with alcohol. Marijuana though, remains detectable far longer.
So that means that drug testing is really a euphemism for marijuana testing. Regardless of whether you approve of people altering their consciousness or not it is a fact of life in all cultures (Eskimos being the possible exception because of the complete lack of vegetation in their habitat). Every society on the planet uses something to alter consciousness. Some chew cocoa leaves, some drink coffee, some consume alcohol, khat, marijuana, tobacco, hashish, the list is a long one. Usually quite mild, these substances tweak the consciousness a bit - either relaxing the mind or stimulating it. Used in moderation they are harmless and have been with us forever ( see: Old News…and I do mean old, on this blog).
We are talking about adults here. Adults who have studied for their positions. Adults who devote a large part of their lives to teaching our children. On what basis can we justify dictating what they do on their own time, in privacy, when it has no dicernable effect on their work?
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I completely agree with the above article. The idea that our educator’s private life should be restricted by the government is disgusting. No one’s private life should be restricted as long as no third parties are harmed.