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Tests checking for illegal drugs and alcohol soon will be a more common sight at Perry-Lecompton High School, but not for everyone.

As the Journal-World previously reported, the Perry-Lecompton school district earlier this month began a new drug testing program checking the hair of students involved in sports and other extra curricular activities for traces of drugs or alcohol.

That Journal-World article sparked a question from some Perry-Lecompton readers and others: Are teachers and other staff members tested for drug use?

Simply put, no. Teachers and most other staff members are not randomly tested for illicit drugs. In addition, potential teachers and staff members aren’t required to take drug tests when they are applying to work within school districts. This is a stark contrast from the hiring process within the private sector, where pre-employment drug screening is much more commonplace.

A quick check of the major public school districts in Douglas County — Lawrence, Baldwin City, Eudora and Perry-Lecompton — found none require prospective employees to take a drug test.

“We don’t do it, and we wouldn’t do it unless we did it for everyone,” said Denis Yoder, superintendent of the Perry-Lecompton district.

Yoder said his district does not conduct pre-employment drug screenings in part because of budgetary limitations.

The random testing program for high school students, however, also comes with a cost. Perry-Lecompton High School Principal Mike Copple previously said each drug test for a student would cost $39 and each alcohol screening would cost $79. District officials, though, would not disclose how much the school has budgeted for the testing.

Julie Boyle, communications director for the Lawrence school district, said the district does not conduct pre-employment drug screening because “it is not currently board policy,” but could not further elaborate on the matter.

Eudora School District Superintendent Steve Splichal said to his knowledge the district hasn’t ever seen pre-employment drug testing as an imperative.

“I just don’t know that’s a place we’ve ever gone or if we’ve ever identified that it’s a need for our district,” he said. “We’ve been very fortunate to have good quality candidates here, regardless of which position they’re applying for.”

It’s unclear how many school districts across the state require pre-employment drug screenings for prospective employees, but an attorney for the Kansas Association of School Boards, or KASB, confirmed there aren’t any laws prohibiting the tests.

Random drug tests

The issue of testing existing employees randomly for drugs is a bit different.

There aren’t any state laws specifically preventing school districts from conducting random drug tests for faculty and staff either, but the districts are concerned about potential legal challenges if they tried to do so. Donna Whiteman, assistant executive director of legal counsel for the KASB, said it’s not a practice her organization would legally recommend.

The issue, though, is sometimes raised in communities randomly testing students for drug and alcohol use. Perry-Lecompton’s new drug testing policy officially began Jan. 5.

Students who test positive for drugs or alcohol face potential suspension from their respective activities, which include sports, band, debate, cheerleading and dance. Those who do not consent to the testing will not be allowed to participate.

Although the district is willing and able to randomly test certain groups of students, Yoder said, the administration does not randomly test school faculty or staff.

If there is reasonable suspicion a faculty or staff member is intoxicated on school grounds, the district does have the ability to send them home and ask them to consent to a test, Yoder said. But random drug tests are not administered, largely because of potential legal ramifications.

“We can test our safety-sensitive employees, which would be bus drivers. They can undergo testing,” Yoder said.

“But with other employees it’s not done,” he added.

Alongside Perry-Lecompton, neither Lawrence, Baldwin City nor Eudora randomly test their faculty or staff, each district confirmed.

Paul Dorathy, superintendent of Baldwin City’s school district, said the board discussed randomly testing some students years ago, but decided against the idea because of financial restrictions and concerns about how impactful the testing would be.

To his knowledge, Dorathy said his district has not considered testing faculty and staff aside from safety-sensitive positions, which are already tested.

“Never had that discussion, don’t know that we’re going to have that discussion,” he said. “I think there are concerns about whether you can tie the testing to their specific jobs and, also, how far are you going before you start violating privacy rights?”

Any random testing of faculty and staff likely would face stiff opposition from the Kansas National Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union.

“If they were just to impose random drug testing on our members, we’d probably have to go have a litigation conversation with them,” said David Schauner, general counsel for KNEA.

Although all American citizens are granted the same rights and freedoms under the United States Constitution, governmental employers — such as public school districts — are more restricted in what they can do than private employers, Schauner said.

“It’s for the same reason I can’t come into your house and go into your front door without permission and look around and see if there’s anything of interest to me,” he said. “It’s an invasive proceeding conducted by government. In this case it would be conducted by a school district.”

Judgment calls

Although none of Douglas County’s major school districts drug test applicants, they do all perform background checks.

“We look for any felony charges, obviously. I think they’re the typical background checks,” Yoder said. “We look for issues with children, crimes of a sexual nature.”

Felonies, crimes involving children and sexual offenses would all be considered automatic disqualifications for employment, Yoder said.

Yoder said Perry-Lecompton does not have a substance abuse problem with either their students or their staff, but the district has not been without incident.

Assistant High School Principal Theresa Beatty was arrested in August 2014 for driving under the influence, her second offense, according to a criminal complaint filed in Jefferson County District Court. She pleaded guilty to the charge in March 2015 and was sentenced to serve two days in jail followed by another three days under house arrest.

Beatty was convicted of her first DUI offense in 2003, according to court documents filed in Shawnee County District Court.

When asked whether the district would hire someone with multiple DUI convictions, Yoder said, “I think it would be something we’d take a look at on a case-by-case basis.”

Both Beatty and Yoder agreed they find no contradiction in a teacher with multiple DUI convictions asking students to steer clear of drugs and alcohol.

Yoder noted that Beatty paid a “pretty severe price” for her convictions and that she “has been a loyal staff member for over 25 years and who is working hard to do her job and be successful.”

When asked about her DUI convictions, Beatty said she has faced significant legal, personal and professional consequences for her actions. In addition, she would be willing to submit to drug and alcohol tests in the future.

Rather than focusing on the past in a negative light, Beatty said she hopes to move forward and teach the lessons she’s learned to Perry-Lecompton’s high school students.

“To be honest, I think I’m the perfect poster child for why they should avoid that situation, because it was devastating, it was embarrassing and it almost ruined the career I spent so much money and education on,” she said. “I should be a learning tool for those kids to see. One, so they can see at a personal level that it’s a very serious offense. And two, if it does happen then you can pull your boot straps up, hold your head high and continue to do the best you can in your life.”