Much has been written recently, including your recent editorial, about school locker searches and the use of drug-sniffing dogs. You correctly point out that the locker belongs to the school. The searches could be authorized at the time the locker is assigned through the use of a simple form stating that all lockers are subject to random searches. This form would be signed by the parent, who, I think, would be only too pleased that the school is looking out for the child's welfare. If the form is not signed, then a locker is not assigned and the student has to carry all excess baggage from classroom to classroom. [continues 170 words]
Day after day I see more and more public school educators stating they are against random drug testing because it "violates" their constitutional rights. Does this mean that any employer in the state of Hawai'i who imposes drug tests is violating my rights? Get real! Drug tests will help "weed" out, pun intended, the substance-abusing teachers and make room for teachers who practice what they preach - drug abuse resistance education. Honolulu [end]
Nobody likes even the appearance of invading someone's privacy, which is what makes the whole debate about searching student lockers distasteful to most people. That's why, while the state school board mulls over its position on searches, it's important to consider how far students should expect privacy rights to extend once they're on a public school campus. Clearly, they can't expect their assigned locker space to be sacrosanct. It belongs to the school, which should retain the right to enter it without the burden of seeking a warrant or otherwise showing reason or suspicion. [continues 317 words]
State and federal officials yesterday cited several trends that they say indicate a reduction of crystal methamphetamine activity in Hawai'i. According to statistics from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, the number of meth labs discovered in the state decreased from 17 in 2005 to two this year, Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona announced. He attributed the decrease largely to recent laws that make it more difficult for people to purchase large quantities of pseudoephedrine, an active ingredient in home-based meth production. [continues 381 words]
The amount of crack cocaine seized in Hawai'i this year has far surpassed totals for the previous three years, a trend law officials attribute to heavy enforcement pressure on crystal methamphetamine operations, crack's relatively low cost and other factors. Through September, authorities seized 671 grams of crack, compared with 442 grams in 2006. In 2005, the haul was 47.91 grams, and 159.2 grams were seized in 2004, according to statistics released by a state, county and federal drug task force. [continues 1042 words]
The state Board of Education last night moved a step closer toward approving a controversial proposal to allow suspicionless searches of student lockers on public school campuses solely at the discretion of principals and school administrators. The board voted 11-1 to allow locker searches "with or without cause," but added a clause that said searches may not be discriminatory. The policy would take effect following public hearings and a final board vote and if approved by Gov. Linda Lingle. Last night's decision at the board's meeting on Moloka'i reversed an earlier decision by a board committee to allow searches of student lockers only if there is suspicion of contraband, such as weapons or drugs. [continues 616 words]
If you live in Hawai'i, you know the price of paradise. The unique cultural mix, beautiful climate and geography, and fantastic cuisine are just a few of the many pleasures. But living this dream often means accepting the reality of lower pay compared to our Mainland counterparts. So it is deeply troubling when the foundation of our community, public school educators, are forced to give up even more - to sacrifice their fundamental right to privacy. By insisting that the Hawai'i State Teachers Association concede to an ill-conceived random drug-testing scheme in return for a badly needed pay increase, Governor Lingle has imperiled not only the fundamental rights of our educators but also the well-being of our students. [continues 605 words]
The recently negotiated contract for public school teachers made drug testing a condition for the granting of pay raises. If the lawsuit challenging the drug testing is successful, are the pay raises canceled? The teachers would no longer be fulfilling a condition of the contract. Or did everyone know in advance that this condition would be removed? Wink, wink. Bill Nelson, Hale'iwa [end]
Volcanic Ash was spot on (Oct. 10) and Richard S. Miller (Oct. 12) missed the target way to the left. The teacher drug tests and student searches are not erosions of our students' freedoms. They are a return to the safe education system that we had before the ultra-liberals took control of the education system in the '70s. Our students' right to an education free of fear, alcohol and drugs is as paramount as my right to safe air travel or automobile travel free of drunken drivers. [continues 68 words]
Allowing sniffing dogs in the schools to seek out evidence of drugs and/or requiring either teachers or students to submit randomly to humiliating drug testing tells both our teachers and our students that they are not to be trusted or respected and creates an atmosphere of hostility and intimidation. That there is little sign "of students rising up in indignation over proposed searches," - as David Shapiro stated in his Oct. 10 Volcanic Ash column - is not a reason to proceed. Rather, it is a dreadful warning sign of kids' sad ignorance of or insensitivity to erosions of our freedoms produced, perhaps, by a failure to teach them adequately about our constitutions and our Bill of Rights. [continues 529 words]
As an employee of the Department of Education and as a resident of the Wai'anae Coast, I can see the merit in drug testing for DOE employees. And I can understand Darlene Tajiri's point (Letters, Oct. 8) regarding the safety and welfare of our keiki and her rights. But there is a big difference between driving a bus and steering a child. Simply put, one is transportation and one is education. [continues 131 words]
Safety More Important Than Privacy Rights I'm having a hard time understanding the arrogance of the teachers of this state. Why would they think they should be exempt from drug testing? Everyone who works with vulnerable communities should be drug tested, which covers a lot of public workers. I'm employed in the private sector and work for an employer that serves the developmentally challenged community. We have mandatory random drug testing, and I have no problem with that. It says that my employers care enough about the consumers they serve to make sure their environment is safe and that they employ individuals who don't put them in harm's way. [continues 96 words]
Rules Must Protect US From False Accusations David Shapiro's support of drug-dog searches in public schools (Volcanic Ash, Oct. 10) is based upon one very important flaw - a belief that only the guilty are accused and prosecuted. He fails to address what will happen to the student whose locker is found to contain contraband, but had nothing to do with putting it there. As we who attended public schools know, all lockers have vent holes, and we have all had unpleasant things pushed into our lockers by other students. [continues 65 words]
To those of you who do not support drug testing for teachers, shame on you. I do not want my keiki around drug abusers, let alone teachers who use drugs. Our keiki spend most of their daytime hours with teachers. Is this what you would want for your keiki? Who are you protecting? I know it is not our keiki. Georgette Stevens Kapolei [end]
You've got to be kidding me. While the ACLU is protecting Hawai'i's public school educators, who is protecting our children? I am an employee who deals with public transportation. Drug testing is required pre-employment, randomly, for probable cause and after an accident. Why is this required of us? For the safety of public transportation. The ACLU says that drug testing violates Hawai'i educators' constitutional right to privacy. What happened to my privacy? I have no problem visiting the bathroom with a plastic cup, simply because I have nothing to hide. As a mother with a child in the public school system, I would feel much better if all teachers were tested, too. Darlene Tajiri Mililani [end]
HILO, Hawai'i -- Large-scale marijuana cultivation in Hawai'i and particularly on the Big Island is moving indoors, and in the past two years police have uncovered increasing numbers of sophisticated indoor farming operations believed to produce millions of dollars worth of illegal crops. The number of police raids on indoor growing operations on the Big Island nearly quadrupled from 2005 to 2006, and is on a course to increase again this year, according to statistics provided by Big Island police Vice Division. [continues 1276 words]
I consider myself a defender of civil liberties and privacy rights, but I'm having trouble getting worked up about disputes in our public schools over searching students' lockers and testing teachers for drugs. There are important privacy issues worth fighting over in the post-9/11 world, but neither of these seem high on the list. Keeping our schools safe and drug free is a high community priority, and both of these measures are reasonable tools for school administrators to have at their disposal as the schools update security. [continues 522 words]
Young people should have rights, just like all the old people trying to take them away. More importantly, locker searches and drug dogs won't address the problem of kids doing drugs. It will only give a false sense of security when nothing is found because the kids will stop keeping it in their lockers, or stop coming to school altogether. Serious drug use affects a person's behavior, and almost always leaves an impression for anyone to see, including teachers and counselors if they are paying attention. [continues 108 words]
The American Civil Liberties Union is expected to deliver a letter to Gov. Linda Lingle today demanding the state halt plans to randomly drug-test public school teachers and employees. After a series of six meetings with hundreds of educators around the state -- the last of which was held last night at Leeward Community College -- the ACLU said it has gathered a list of more than 150 teachers who are willing to participate in a legal challenge of a new contract that allows random drug testing of Hawai'i public school employees. [continues 339 words]
The Board of Education is considering the use of "drug-sniffing dogs" as a tool to fight the substance-abuse crisis in Hawai'i public schools. This program would use dogs that are proficient and certified to detect not only drugs, but alcohol, gunpowder and abused medications. A detection-canine program is critically needed in Hawai'i schools. School canine programs have been proven to be effective and have been supported by courts across the country. News reports have pointed to U.S. Department of Justice findings that Hawai'i has the highest rate in the nation of high school students who drink on campus -- more than twice the national average. And our state is tied for second in the nation for marijuana use on campus. [continues 629 words]
