Maryland School District Toughens Drug-Testing Policy March 9, 2004
News Summary
School officials in Carroll County, Md., are using drug testing and treatment to ensure that teachers don't use illicit drugs, the Baltimore Sun reported March 7.Under the school district's new guidelines, faculty and staff would have to submit to a drug test if their supervisors have "reasonable suspicion" of alcohol or other drug misuse. A positive result would require the completion of a treatment program before the teacher returns to work, and teachers would have to consent to up to six unannounced drugs tests over the 12 months following reinstatement.
"This is not a witch hunt. And it's not to say that we think we have a problem or we think there's an unknown problem out there," said Stephen Guthrie, the system's assistant superintendent of administration. "It's just another layer of protection for our staff and our students."
Under the current guidelines, Gurthrie said there is little principals and other supervisors can do if a staff member is suspected of drug misuse.
Union leaders worked with school officials to draft the new guidelines. "The philosophy is to assist employees having some trouble or difficulty with substance abuse or alcohol abuse," said Barry Potts, president of the 2,030-member Carroll County Education Association.
Carroll County is the second Maryland school system to implement a reasonable-suspicion threshold. The new policy, which takes effect July 1, is one of the toughest employee drug-testing programs in the state.
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