Pubdate: Mon, 08 Oct 2007
Source: Morning Call (Allentown, PA)
Copyright: 2007 The Morning Call Inc.
Contact:  http://www.mcall.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/275
Author: Michael Duck
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)

SCHOOL DISTRICT REQUIRING DRUG TEST

Screening Will Apply To Prospective Employees In Northampton Area

Northampton Area has become one of the first school  districts in the 
Lehigh Valley to require prospective  employees to get tested for drugs.

Northampton is one of several local districts that  discussed 
tightening drug policies in the wake of a  Bethlehem principal's 
February arrest for drug dealing.  Last week, Northampton school 
officials agreed their  first step will be to require drug tests, 
starting next  week, of everyone who receives a job offer to be a 
teacher, administrator or other employee.

"We have the right to request a pre-employment drug  test," said 
Assistant Superintendent Bill Falstich.  "We want to make sure that 
we maintain a safe and  drug-free workplace, not only for our 
students but for  our employees as well."

The Pennsylvania School Boards Association estimates  that at least 
75 of the state's 501 school districts  already have policies on 
pre-employment drug testing.  It's not clear if any of those 75 are 
in the Valley,  because no state group or agency tracks districts' 
drug testing policies.

Falstich said he wasn't aware of any other local  districts that 
require pre-employment drug tests.

The Northampton Area School Board, which voted 7-0 on  Oct. 1 to 
approve the screenings of prospective  employees, also is still 
discussing requiring drug  tests for current employees, said Robert 
Koch, the  board's president.

"Given the environment today, we should have a policy  for drug 
testing," Koch said. "Recent local history  says that there could be problems."

John Acerra, then principal of Bethlehem's Nitschmann  Middle School, 
was arrested in his school office on  Feb. 27. He pleaded guilty in 
August to possessing and  delivering methamphetamines.

Teachers unions in the state have fought proposals to  test current 
school employees for drugs, arguing the  screenings would be 
unconstitutional and would violate  collective bargaining agreements.

However, state and local union officials said they have  no objection 
to policies like the new one in  Northampton, because potential new 
hires aren't  represented by a union.

"The district has a right to develop any hiring  policies that it 
feels are appropriate," said John  Clark, a spokesman for the 
Pennsylvania State Education  Association.

Thomas Laputka, president of the Northampton Area  Educators' 
Association, agreed and compared the new  drug screening to other 
pre-employment conditions like  "criminal background checks, 
tuberculosis testing  [and] possessing proper teaching credentials."

Under state law, prospective school employees must go  through police 
background checks and an FBI fingerprint  check, Falstich said.

Pennsylvania has no requirements about pre-employment  drug 
screenings for school workers, but in general the  state Department 
of Education supports "anything  school districts can do to make 
schools safer for students," said department spokesman Michael Race.

Northampton's new policies state that the district will  pay for the 
drug tests and will share the results with  the job applicant. If an 
applicant believes the test  results are incorrect, he or she may 
appeal by having  the sample retested once.

Applicants who test positive for illegal drugs or  refuse the test 
will lose their job offers, the policy  states.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman