Ridgewood NJ, a Ridgewood Police officer was named as one of eight New Jersey police officers last year who failed random drug test, after a random testing policy was put in place across the state .
According to sources the tests uncovered law enforcement officers using drugs like marijuana, cocaine and the powerful prescription opioid painkiller oxycodone. The mandatory drug testing policy for all law enforcement officers was enacted in March by New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal .
Ridgewood NJ, In a letter to Hopewell Valley Central High School parents this week, district Superintendent Thomas Smith spelled out his intention to propose a random drug-testing program for students next school year.
Given the events of the last few months some observers think it would be prudent for the Ridgewood School district to follow suit.
According to NJ.COM , The proposed plan comes after officials at the Hopewell Valley Central High School saw an increase in students under the influence of marijuana, prescription drugs and alcohol, he said. Smith also said the district has discovered middle school students under the influence.
During the 2015-16 school year, seven students violated the substance abuse policy, and in the 2016-17 year, the number rose to 24.
Under the proposed policy, a student who tests positive under the random test would not receive the current academic suspension, “but rather alternatives that focus on prevention such as meeting with the Student Assistance Counselor (SAC) and attending and completing an Early Intervention Program,” Smith wrote.
Superintendent Thomas Smith claimed that no test results would initiate criminal charges or an investigation. The district will not share test results with any law enforcement agency.
The policy would apply to all students in grades 9-12 who are in any extra-curricular or co-curricular activities, or any student who holds a permit to park on school property.It will also apply to any student who voluntarily elects to the program with parental consent.
By Anthony G. Attrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on December 01, 2016 at 8:00 AM, updated December 01, 2016 at 10:35 AM
OLD TAPPAN – A former board of education member who wrote on Facebook that some parents who oppose random drug testing “smoke pot with their kids” is suing a married couple for allegedly smearing her name, according to a lawsuit.
Kathy Fable claims in a lawsuit parents slandered her at board of education meetings and on Facebook. (Photo courtesy of Kathy Fable)
Kathleen Quinn Fable, who served for three years on the Northern Valley Regional Board of Education in Old Tappan claims in court papers that Dennis Doros and Amy Heller of Harrington Park made statements that injured her reputation and adversely affected her advertising business.
The issue stems from an Aug. 5, 2013 Facebook post Fable made about parents who oppose suspicion-based, random drug testing in Bergen County schools.
“Should we be acting on the demands of the parents who smoke pot with their kids?” Fable wrote in the post, which appeared in a closed Facebook group for Old Tappan moms.
