“Spotsylvania School Board member Jennifer Craig-Ford is seeking an opinion from the Virginia attorney general on whether local school boards can require suspicion-less pre-employment drug testing of teachers and other staff with direct student contact,” Fredericksburg Free Press reported. Craig-Ford, who voted with the board majority earlier this month against implementing such testing, has asked local legislators to request formal guidance on four questions involving state law, constitutional limits under the Fourth Amendment and Virginia Constitution, and whether rules differ for new hires or specific employee categories.
The school division already conducts federally required testing for commercial driver’s license bus drivers and suspicion-based testing for other employees; no other Virginia school division currently mandates pre-employment drug screens for classroom staff. Delegates Nicole Cole and Josh Cole said they will send a joint letter to Attorney General Jay Jones seeking the opinion.
Sen. Tara Durant (R-Fredericksburg, Stafford) expressed disappointment that the Spotsylvania County School Board declined to require pre-employment drug screening for prospective school employees, arguing Virginia law clearly grants local boards the authority to adopt such policies, and that student safety must come first. She cited a recent local incident in which a second-grade teacher brought fentanyl into a classroom as a reminder of the risks and urged the board to reconsider.
“Virginia law grants local school boards broad authority to establish employment policies and oversee the operation of their schools. Specifically, Virginia Code §§ 22.1-78, 22.1-295(B), and 15.2-1500 provide local school boards and governing bodies with the authority to adopt employment policies, including pre-employment drug screening requirements, that protect students. Nothing in Virginia law prohibits a local school board from requiring pre-employment drug screening for teachers or other school employees. This is not a question of legal authority—it is a policy decision. … Just two years ago, a second-grade teacher in Spotsylvania County brought fentanyl into her classroom, where it was later discovered. That incident serves as a sobering reminder that even a single lapse can place children at extraordinary risk. … I hope the Spotsylvania County School Board will reconsider its decision and adopt this common-sense safeguard. Student safety should always come first.”
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