Items at the scene indicated “there may have been drug use,” Greene County sheriff’s Capt. Eric Spicer said Tuesday, May 18.
Spicer said he concurred with the county coroner, who is investigating it as a “drug-related” death.
“Health could be a factor, so we’re waiting on the doctors’ reports and the toxicology findings,” which take about six to eight weeks, Spicer said, declining further comment.
Dryden, 34, taught at Stivers for 11 years, but was not required to take drug tests as part of his employment. The Ohio Department of Education requires background checks when people apply for a state teaching license, spokesman Scott Blake said, but “drug testing hasn’t been required as any type of licensure qualification.”
District requirements regarding pre-employment screening or continued screening during employment is a “local decision,” Blake said.
“There are a handful of districts throughout the state that have bargained random drug testing within their contract,” said Michele Prater, spokeswoman for the Ohio Education Association, which represents teachers.
By law, administrators have the right to intervene whenever there is suspicion of drug use, Prater said.
Drug testing Ohio’s more than 100,000 teachers would be costly, said Tom Lasley, former dean of the University of Dayton’s School of Education and Allied Professions.
Teachers who use drugs “represent more of a threat to themselves than to young people,” Lasley said.
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