In an earlier blog post, The True Negative asked the question, “do schools drug test teachers?” Focusing on K-12 education, we were surprised to find that almost no schools drug test teachers. Our most up-to-date stats on K-12 employment drug testing show that out of submissions for ~30 different schools, only three users have reported that their schools drug test. Which schools drug test? The three schools users have reported drug test are Longwood High School in New York, Toledo Public Schools in Ohio, and Chicago Public Schools in Illinois. The teacher working at the Toledo Public School noted “These were routine tests given to all employees. Having never done illegal drugs, I did not worry about them.”

As you may know, recreational weed became legal in Illinois starting January 1st 2020, the implications we covered in an earlier blog post. As of May 11, 2020, New York has banned pre-employment drug testing, a topic we will cover in a later blog post. The employment drug tests for the two schools in Illinois and New York took place prior to 2020, so we’re curious to see whether these rare cases of drug testing in K-12 education will disappear.

Switching our focus to higher education, do colleges and universities drug test employees?

Of the 23 colleges and universities users have submitted information for, given the level of freedom faculty and staff in higher education have, we were not particularly surprised to find that very few colleges and universities drug test their employees. Of the 6 colleges and universities that do drug test, users with the following titles reported being drug tested:

Assistant Dean of Faculty
Cosmetology Instructor
Food Nutrition
Nursing Faculty
2 users did not submit their titles

Below is the full list of colleges and universities that users have reported do and do not drug test:

Colleges and Universities that Users Report Drug Test Employees
Chamberlain University
Delaware Technical Community College
Fordham University
Lake Technical College
Oregon Health & Science University
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Colleges and Universities that Users Report DO NOT Drug Test Employees
American University
Bellevue College
California State University San Bernardino
Colorado State University
Harvard University
Iona College
Loyola University
Northern Illinois University
Owens College
Portland Community College
Portland State University
The University of Texas at Austin
University of Iowa
University of Kansas
University of Pittsburgh
Virginia State University
Wayland Baptist University

Are you faculty or staff at a college or university? The True Negative would love to hear from you. Information on colleges and universities that don’t drug test is just as valuable as information on colleges and universities that do. Submit information about your drug testing experience here!