News Channel 8

Published: July 16, 2008

Kenneth Ray Walker was ordered to take a drug test as part of his probation, but when he went to take his test Tuesday afternoon at the Plant City Police Department, police said that Walker claimed that he could not urinate at that time. An officer told him to keep trying.

Walker, 41, eventually told them that test results would show that his urine was not clean because he used cocaine Friday, police said. They also said Walker also told them he had with him a condom filled with water that he planned to use in place of his urine.

That was the finding of a University of New Hampshire study that polled superintendents across the country, asking whether their district has policies on drug testing teachers, and whether they would support such policies.

The Telegraph’s informal survey of local school districts found none that have implemented drug-testing policies for teachers

There may even be controlled circumstances where mandatory programs can meet constitutional muster. But if nothing else, why can’t testing be done on a voluntary basis, backed by peer pressure to participate?

The Express-Times

EASTON | From now on, newly hired teachers at the Easton Area School District will have to take a drug test before taking their jobs.

The Easton Area School Board unanimously passed a pre-employment drug-testing policy Monday.

PLATTSBURGH — Some women across the nation are keeping their purses stocked with date-rape-drug test kits when they head out for a night on the town.

Straw and coaster kits that perform on-the-spot testing for date-rape drugs have become popular in many urban nightlife scenes.

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Star-Telegram/Ron T. Ennis

Like most people involved in high school athletics, Troy Little’s workday starts early and ends late.

The Aledo trainer begins %rehabilitating injured athletes as early as 7:30 a.m. and leaves after the day’s final practice, which can stretch into the evening. In between, he teaches a sports medicine class and updates the treatment and injury history of Bearcats athletes on the school’s computer system.

CHEYENNE n Laramie County School District 1 does not have a policy to randomly test teachers for drugs.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – Cheyenne school district officials are looking into random drugs tests for district employees, including teachers.

Last week, federal authorities arrested an elementary teacher and a teacher’s assistant in Cheyenne on drug-related charges.

That is prompting Laramie County School District 1 to review how it supervises, hires, evaluates and monitors employees.

Superintendent Ted Adams says that includes looking at whether the district can randomly test employees.

However, there are legal questions that must be looked at first.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Published: Thursday, February 14, 2008

Drug testing in professional golf officially begins with this week’s LPGA Tour season-opening SBS Open in Hawaii.

It’s not certain testing will take place because of the random nature of the process, but one or more of the 139 players in the field, possibly LPGA Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam, Canada’s Lorie Kane, and defending champion Paula Creamer, could find themselves providing urine samples through the course of the 54-hole tournament.

The PGA Tour won’t start testing until the John Deere Classic in July. Testing on the Nationwide Tour is expected by November and on the Champions Tour by the middle of next year.

HUNTINGTON — The authors of the proposed student drug testing policy aren’t quite ready to move from the rough draft phase to presenting it for first read to members of the Cabell County School Board.

But at Tuesday’s board meeting, they will release bids received from companies to administer and read the tests.

Superintendent William Smith, Assistant Superintendent Judy Forbush and Administrative Assistant for Secondary Education Todd Alexander, who worked for about two months putting together the first draft of the policy, are waiting on a review from the Cabell County Schools legal team. They want to know whether or not it is constitutional to include students who drive to school into their random pool.

The policy, as written, would include high school and middle school students in interscholastic extracurricular activities ranging from athletics to school-supported clubs. The drug testing policy also would allow parents to opt their children into the pool of students who would be randomly tested throughout the year.

The first draft of the policy also includes testing for performance-enhancing drugs, which would be randomly tested for within the random samples.

Alexander said administrators also felt strongly about adding middle school students to the policy. But it won’t be cheap. In early discussions last fall, officials estimated a cost of about $15,000, but only for the testing of high school students.

After adding the middle schools and receiving bids, Alexander said it could cost about $60,000 a year. The bidders, which are both local and non-local, priced the performance-enhancing drug testing at about $150, while a regular drug test would cost anywhere from $25 to $50.

“You’re looking at a costly program,” Alexander said. “What we’ll be looking for in the next several months is federal grants that could pay for the program. There are some dollars that can help offset this.”

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the board will recognize a number of Cabell County teachers who recently became nationally certified and talk about a city of Huntington resolution passed last Monday night by Huntington City Council members who are against building a new middle school outside of city limits.

The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. and is held at 2850 5th Ave., Huntington.