By ACLU of Hawaii Executive Director Vanessa Chong and printed in the Honolulu Advertiser
If you live in Hawai'i, you know the price of paradise. The unique cultural mix, beautiful climate and geography, and fantastic cuisine are just a few of the many pleasures. But living this dream often means accepting the reality of lower pay compared to our Mainland counterparts. So it is deeply troubling when the foundation of our community, public school educators, are forced to give up even more — to sacrifice their fundamental right to privacy.
By insisting that the Hawai'i State Teachers Association concede to an ill-conceived random drug-testing scheme in return for a badly needed pay increase, Governor Lingle has imperiled not only the fundamental rights of our educators but also the well-being of our students.
Random drug testing is demonstrably ineffective, providing a deceptive veneer of security and nothing more. At a time when school budgets are strained to the breaking point, we should not fritter away scarce resources on feel-good measures that trample teachers' rights at taxpayers' expense.
And though the governor's eleventh-hour demand that educators sacrifice their right to privacy in exchange for a living wage might prove politically expedient, it will most certainly prove unconstitutional and, if necessary, be overturned in court.
It is not, however, too late for the governor to change course.
The ACLU recently completed a series of public forums on O'ahu, Maui, Kaua'i, Hawai'i and Moloka'i to learn firsthand what random drug testing will mean for our classrooms. We found countless committed educators who readily cope with insufficient supplies and textbooks, dilapidated facilities and overcrowded classrooms — teachers accustomed to personal sacrifice for their profession.
These educators were roundly and rightly exasperated at the ease and haste with which our elected officials found drug-testing funds. Often forced to scrape by on a $200 annual classroom budget, teachers now face the prospect of unsubstantiated drug tests estimated at $200 apiece.
Educators also questioned the message that baseless drug testing sends to students. The notion that "those with nothing to hide have nothing to fear" is antithetical to our system of justice and renders our most sacred rights utterly meaningless. As role models entrusted with instructing students on the proper role of government and the importance of democracy, educators should not be made to sign off on government overreach in return for an adequate paycheck.
In contrast to its clear costs, the benefits of random drug testing remain doubtful at best. In reality, such testing is almost solely a barometer of marijuana use. While traces of marijuana persist in people's urine for weeks at a time, harder drugs, like ice, are undetectable within days of use. Random testing is, therefore, least likely to uncover the drug use most likely to prove problematic.
Given that there already exists a requirement to drug-test educators who arouse suspicion, it seems illogical and likely counterproductive to blindly cast a deficient dragnet rather than focus attention on apparent offenders. While dragnet searches may offer the illusion of security, they distract from actual threats to student safety.
Beyond the practical considerations of cost and efficacy is the simple fact that it is unconstitutional for the government to drug-test educators without cause. The Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights protect Americans from unreasonable searches. Invasive and embarrassing examination of bodily fluid is a glaring violation of the fundamental right to personal privacy. And contrary to alarmist claims, infringing on educators' privacy will do nothing to advance student safety — in fact, quite the opposite.
The best way to protect our students now, as well as to provide them the tools to protect themselves in the future, is to instill respect for the Constitution.
The governor's drug-testing scheme is all the more galling given that it is wholly unnecessary. The plan was precipitated by the high-profile arrests of four public education employees, out of 13,000, on drug-related offenses during the 2006-07 school year. No evidence has been presented that any of these teachers' misdeeds involved students in any way.
Expensive, ineffective, unconstitutional and unnecessary, Governor Lingle's drug-testing ploy is indefensible. The governor should be ashamed of her attempt to exploit our fears for political gain by peddling a costly policy counter to the well-being of teachers and students alike.