Pubdate: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 Source: Casper Star-Tribune (WY) Copyright: 2006 Casper Star-Tribune Contact: http://www.casperstartribune.net/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/765 Author: Jenni Dillon, Star-Tribune staff writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test) SCHOOL DISTRICT PLANS DRUG TESTS FOR FUTURE WORKERS The Natrona County School District is moving forward with a new drug-testing policy for potential employees. After months of debate, the school board on Monday heard a first reading of a new policy that would require a new hire to undergo a five-panel urine test for illegal drugs, as well as a breath test for alcohol, before being approved for hire. The policy is scheduled for a second reading and vote Feb. 13. If approved, it would go into effect this fall. The policy proposal coincides with community-wide efforts to increase employee drug testing, as well as efforts by at least two other Wyoming school districts -- Campbell 1 and Sweetwater 2 -- to implement drug screening for teachers and other school workers. However, the proposal has drawn fire from local school employee groups, who claim that the policy could violate privacy rights. The new policy would not affect current employees, though some already are screened based on their positions in high-risk jobs, and the district already conducts tests when there is reasonable suspicion of an employee's possible drug problems. The new policy would add pre-employment drug screening, meaning that any applicant would have to be tested between the time of being offered a job and actually starting work. The district would contract with an independent, third-party medical facility to conduct a split sample urinalysis test. Urinalysis tests for drug use between one and five days prior to the test. The split sample would allow a positive result to be tested again for accuracy. A test that proved consistently positive for marijuana, cocaine, opiates, PCP or amphetamines, including meth, would bar the candidate from a job in the school district. The policy also would allow the district to give potential employees a breath test, which would examine a person's current blood alcohol content. Casper Police Chief Tom Pagel spoke Monday in favor of the policy, explaining that about 160 Casper area businesses have started drug testing employees and that such policies not only can help decrease local methamphetamine problems, but also send a message that the community is serious about combating such issues. However, Alice McNamee, president of the Natrona County Education Association, has consistently said that the association deems drug testing by a government entity, like the school district, a violation of the Constitution. She presented the school board with an evaluation by the association's legal representation, noting several possible problems with the policy. For example, wrote lawyer Patrick Hacker of Cheyenne, government entities must prove a drug problem exists among employees, not just the community at large, to implement drug testing. According to data provided by the district Monday, a total of 52 employees have been required by existing policies to undergo drug screening in the last five years. One has tested positive. An additional six employees independently sought help for addiction problems in 2004, and 10 more asked for assistance in 2005, added Crystal Mueller, executive director of human resources for the district. The district employs about 1,900 people. Hacker also pointed out that the proposed policy would provide an exception for applicants using medications prescribed by a doctor. That exception, however, would require a person to provide private medical information to a potential employer. Aside from McNamee's statements on behalf of the teachers' association, though, no one else has publicly spoken out against the proposed policy. Community members, parents and school staff have a month to contact board members with their opinions on the matter, and public comment will be taken at the policy's second reading Feb. 13, immediately before a board vote. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman