Judge Issues Opinion In Drug Testing Case
Andrew Clevenger, Staff Writer
January 9, 2009
The Charleston Gazette (WV)
The school board's safety concerns do not outweigh the privacy interests of Kanawha County teachers and other school employees subject to the board's new random drug-testing policy, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
In a written opinion published Thursday, Chief U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin expanded on his decision last month to block the school board from subjecting its employees to random drug screening.
In October, the school board voted 4-1 to approve random drug testing for 45 types of employees deemed safety sensitive, including not only teachers but administrators, counselors, coaches, custodians, cafeteria workers and bus drivers.
In response, the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia filed a lawsuit seeking to brand the new policy, which was slated to go into effect Jan. 1, as unconstitutional.
At a Dec. 29 hearing, Goodwin enjoined the school board from putting the policy into effect. He said the school board had not presented any evidence of a pervasive drug problem that would justify overriding the civil liberties of the individuals to be tested, as protected by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Thursday's opinion elaborates on the judge's reasoning for blocking the random drug testing. | 
