In Their Own Words: Hawaii's Teachers Speak Out Against Random Drug Testing (Debbie Shirai)

Debbie Shirai
Health and Science Teacher
Keonepoko Elementary School

IN THEIR OWN WORDS:
“The important lesson that I’m teaching my daughter and my students is to stand up for themselves and their rights. I’m fighting this battle for my daughter, for my students, and for all the future generations.”

> View her video testimonial

FULL BIO:
Debbie Shirai is a sixth grade science and health teacher at Keonepoko Elementary School in Hilo, Hawaii, who says that teaching is her calling. While raising two daughters, Shirai put herself through eight years of college in order to pursue her dream of making a difference in the lives of Hawaii’s children.

Shirai was deeply upset by Governor Lingle’s move to randomly drug test Hawaii’s teachers. She feels the Governor’s plan will cast a shadow of suspicion on educators and undermine the respect of students, which is critically important to being an effective teacher and role model.

Just as significantly, Shirai believes that random drug testing without cause is a clear violation of her Fourth Amendment rights and believes that the best lesson she can teach her students is to oppose the erosion of the Constitution. She felt so strongly about this that, following the introduction of the random testing program into the teachers’ contract, Shirai taught her class a civics lesson on the meaning and importance of the Bill of Rights – particularly the Fourth Amendment. Shirai explained to her students that while she has never used drugs and never will, she is nonetheless vigorously opposed to random drug testing because, as Americans, everyone has a duty to protect the Constitution.

With a 16-year-old daughter serving as president of her school’s Future Educators of America Association, who hopes to one day join the ranks of Hawaii’s teachers, Shirai feels a heightened obligation to defend the Fourth Amendment rights of teachers today and of teachers for generations to come.

“The important lesson that I’m teaching my daughter and my students is to stand up for themselves and their rights,” said Shirai. “I’m fighting this battle for my daughter, for my students, and for all the future generations.”

LEARN MORE:
Meet other teachers fighting for their Fourth Amendment rights >>