FILE: G-4.2
ATHLETIC, EXTRACURRICULAR, AND
ACTIVITY DRUG SCREENING OF STUDENTS
The Central Community School Board is a legal entity charged with the task of providing the best possible educational opportunities to students, with a strong commitment to their health, safety, and welfare. While extracurricular activities are not an essential aspect of the educational process, student participation in such activities is a privilege afforded eligible students on an equal opportunity and voluntary basis.
In the School Board’s commitment to maintain a safe and secure educational environment, a clear policy related to the detection, treatment referral, and prevention of substance abuse by students involved in extracurricular activities is desired. Therefore the expressed purpose of this policy is:
To enhance the health and safety of students and those who interact with students by deterring substance abuse.
To implement a plan which is not academically punitive for the purpose of discouraging students who participate in extracurricular activities, drive a vehicle to school, or who elect to participate from using illegal drugs and alcohol.
To provide a program for identification, intervention, and monitoring of chemical dependency problems.
To educate students and parents on treatment alternatives for substance abuse.
To preserve and maintain a positive learning environment for students entrusted to the care of the Central Community School Board.
Each student in grades 6-12 who wishes to participate in extracurricular activities, who applies for and receives a parking permit at school, or whose parent/legal guardian has elected to voluntarily participate in this program shall be subject to the School Board’s student drug screening program. Participation shall include practice, competition, and involvement in events associated with the extracurricular activities. Extracurricular activities shall be those activities as defined in Bulletin 741, Louisiana Handbook for School Administrators, including all teams, performing bands, performing choir, cheerleaders, dance teams, and flag corps.
PROCEDURES
The Superintendent shall designate a Program Coordinator who shall be a full-time employee of the Central Community School Board who shall be responsible for the oversight of the drug screening program. The Superintendent and Program Coordinator shall designate appropriate individuals to assist in carrying out the drug screening program, including a Testing Administrator on each campus in which the policy shall be being implemented.
Consent
Prior to participating in any Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) sanctioned sport, the student athlete and parent/guardian shall be required to sign the LHSAA Substance Abuse/Misuse Contract and Consent form. These arrangements state that all student athletes shall be subject to random drug testing. These tests shall be strictly enforced and participation shall be mandatory, since the parents/guardians have freely chosen to allow their son(s)/daughter(s) to participate in athletic programs. No athlete shall be tested unless the parent(s)/guardian(s) and the athlete sign the LHSAA Substance Abuse/Misuse Contract and Consent form giving permission to have the tests performed. Refusal to allow these tests to be administered shall immediately serve notice that the student may not participate in any interscholastic athletics.
For other activities covered by this policy, the parent and/or guardian and the student shall be required to sign the Central Community School Board Drug/Alcohol Screening Contract and Consent Form. Any time a student refuses to be tested he/she shall be suspended from the activity for the remainder of the season.
Medications
Students who have been or are taking prescription medication must provide a verification letter (by a copy of the prescription or by an original doctor’s statement) prior to being tested. Students who refuse to provide verification and test positive shall be subject to the actions specified for “positive” testing.
Initial Testing
Each student in grades 6-12 participating in extracurricular activities shall be required to take an initial drug test. Students who enroll after the beginning of the school year, receive a parking permit, or begin participation in any identified extracurricular activity during the school year shall be required to submit a consent form and be required to take an initial drug test.
Testing Frequency
In addition to initial testing, a percentage of students determined by the Program Coordinator shall be randomly tested.
Random Selection
The Program Coordinator shall provide the Test Administrator with the list of students to be included in the testing pool. Students shall be chosen for testing by a computer generated random selected process by the Test Administrator. The Test Administrator may also add names to the random testing list upon referral from staff or faculty members.
Testing Standard
The Program Coordinator shall determine the method of testing to be utilized for each random drug testing event; however, initial testing shall be performed using hair analysis. Sample collection and testing shall be in accordance with the standards set by the designated Testing Laboratory and the policies approved by the Central Community School Board. Parameters shall be set by the industry standards for testing by all methods as defined by the National Institute of Drug Abuse. The Test Administrator shall have all specimens tested by a qualified laboratory certified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) following the guidelines of the Louisiana Department of Health and Human Services, and the College of American Pathologists.
The Test Administrator shall provide documentation that the testing laboratory has received FDA clearance for the type of sample tested.
Testing Procedures
All samples shall be screened for the presence of illegal and abusive substances, including but not limited to cocaine, marijuana, amphetamines, opiates, phencyclidine and/or the metabolites of the aforementioned substances. No sample shall be used for any other purpose. The student’s confidentiality shall be maintained in selection and testing process. All testing sample collectors shall be trained according to industry standards on both collection process and chain of custody procedures.
For hair sampling, each student shall provide a sample of hair (approximately 60 strands) cosmetically cut under supervision of designated collectors. Students with insufficient head hair shall have body hair collected, such as arm, leg, or underarm hair. Any student who presents to school with insufficient hair sample availability shall not be allowed to participate until hair has grown to sufficient testing levels.
Once properly collected, the sample shall be sealed and initialed by the designated collector and initialed by the student under full chain-of custody procedures to ensure the correct identification of the hair sample and subsequent results. The samples shall be sent to the testing laboratory by the Test Administrator or his/her designee.
Test Results
Test results shall be disclosed according to strict procedures regarding the chain of custody and access to the results. Student privacy shall be protected in accordance with all applicable laws. Test results shall be kept separate from other school system records and school system personnel shall be allowed to view the information only if they have a legitimate interest in the results. Results shall not be shared with law enforcement officials except as required by law.
Chain of Custody
To protect the student’s identity, the laboratory shall identify each sample according to assigned numbers, not by names. Only the Superintendent’s designee shall have the master list of assigned numbers.
Once a student is selected for testing:
The student shall be notified to report to the test site where the student shall sign in and complete a Chain of Custody Form.
If a student is currently taking or has taken prescription medications, he/she shall provide to the screening agent notification to be given to the testing administrator or his/her designee for confirmation.
Collection Process
The collection process shall be in accordance with such rules and regulations established by the collection agency, and approved/revised by the Superintendent and the School Board. The collection agency shall be responsible for seeing that specimens are delivered to and/or picked up by the testing laboratory and Chain of Custody form properly annotated.
Notification
When a student’s test indicates the presence of a prohibited substance identified in this policy, and within two (2) days of the school receiving the confirmed positive test result, the parent/legal guardian shall be contacted by the appropriate school official.
Retest
A student who tests positive may request a second test. A request for a retest shall be made in writing to the Program Coordinator within forty-eight (48) hours from the time the parents are notified or a positive test result. The student/parent shall bear any expense for a retest. The student or parent may select the second laboratory from a list of nationally certified independent laboratories identified by the testing laboratory and approved by the School Board. The list of approved laboratories may be obtained from the Program Coordinator upon request. No result shall be accepted from a laboratory not on the School Board’s list of approved laboratories.
Once a request for retest has been made, the Testing Laboratory shall send the second container of the split specimen directly to the second laboratory designated for testing. The results of the test conducted by the second laboratory shall be released only to the parent/legal guardian of the student, and the Program Coordinator.
CONSEQUENCES
The following consequences shall apply to any student upon receipt of a positive result from the drug screening testing prescribed in this policy:
First Positive Test Results
After the first confirmed positive test result:
The student shall be suspended from participation in all identified extracurricular activities and/or driving privileges for ten (10) school days or until the required documentation of counseling and a negative drug test result have been produced, whichever is longer.
A conference shall be conducted involving the designated school official, personnel responsible for administering the extracurricular activity in which the student participates, the student, and the student’s parent.
The student shall provide documentation of attending and successfully completing two (2) hours of substance abuse counseling from an approved provider.
The student shall submit to another drug test and produce a negative test result.
The student shall be tested during each subsequent random drug-testing event for one (1) calendar year.
Student/parent shall bear expenses for all subsequent tests after the initial random drug screening, and any retests.
If the student has not completed these consequences within ten (10) school days after the positive result is reported by the School Board to the parent, the student shall be suspended from participating in all identified extracurricular activities and/or driving privileges until the required documentation and negative test results have been produced.
Second Positive Test Results
After a second confirmed positive test result:
The student shall be suspended from participation in all identified extracurricular activities and/or driving privileges for twenty (20) school days or until the required documentation of counseling and a negative drug test result have been produced, whichever is longer.
A conference shall be conducted involving the designated school official, personnel responsible for administering the extracurricular activity in which the student participates, the student, and the student’s parent.
The student shall provide documentation of attending and successfully completing four (4) hours of substance abuse counseling from an approved provider.
The student shall submit to another drug test and produce a negative test result.
The student shall be tested during each subsequent random drug-testing event for one (1) calendar year.
Student/parent shall bear expenses for all subsequent tests after the initial random drug screening and any retests.
Third Positive Test Results
After a third confirmed positive test result:
The student shall be suspended from participation in all identified extracurricular activities and/or driving privileges for the remainder of the school year, for eighty-eight (88) school days, or until the required documentation of counseling and a negative drug test result have been produced, whichever is longer.
A conference shall be conducted involving the designated school official, personnel responsible for administering the extracurricular activity in which the student participates, the student, and the student’s parent.
The student shall provide documentation of attending and successfully completing ten (10) hours of substance abuse counseling from an approved provider.
The student shall submit to another drug test and produce a negative test result.
The student shall be tested during each subsequent random drug-testing event for one (1) calendar year.
Student/parent shall bear expenses for all subsequent tests after the initial random drug screening, and any retests.
END OF YEAR SUSPENSIONS FROM PARTICIPATION
If a student’s suspension from participation in an identified extracurricular activities and/or driving privileges is not completed by the end of a school year, the student shall complete the assigned period of suspension during the first semester of the following school year.
SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELING
The School Board shall recognize substance abuse counseling provided by a certified chemical dependency counselor or any agency certified by the State of Louisiana. A list of approved substance abuse counseling providers may be obtained from the Director of Student Services upon request.
REFUSAL
Refusal to provide a sample, or noncompliance with the testing procedures, by any student engaged in school-sponsored extracurricular activities and/or whom receives a parking permit at a school shall be considered a positive test result, shall be reported to the appropriate School Board representative, and shall result in consequence appropriate to the student’s testing history, as provided in this policy.
ACADEMICALLY NON-PUNITIVE
A positive drug test shall not affect a student’s grade in any class, including any curricular class associated with an extracurricular activity. If participation in the extracurricular activity is required for the class, however, the student may be required to satisfy participation requirements in an alternative manner. Drug test results shall not be documented in the student’s academic records.
APPEALS
A parent or student may appeal a positive test result in accordance with School Board policy. Consequences established by this policy shall not be deferred pending the completion of the appeals process. If the outcome of the appeal is not in the student’s favor, the number of days the student has been suspended from participation in identified extracurricular activities and/or parking during the appeal process shall count toward the total number of days of required suspension. If the outcome of the appeal is in the student’s favor, the student shall be permitted to return to participation in all extracurricular activities and/or parking their registered vehicle at school.
CONFIDENTIALITY
All drug tests shall be considered confidential information and handled accordingly. Parents of students whose tests yield a positive result shall meet immediately with the principal. The results of a positive drug screen are not to be disclosed to law enforcement officers.
PARENTAL RELEASE
The parent(s) or guardians) and the student shall release the Central Community School Board, its members (both individually and in their official capacity), the Central Community School District, as well as any employee, teacher, principal or other school administrator or personnel from any liability in connection with this policy, the administration of the testing procedures and/or test results, any warranties addressing the accuracy of said tests and any and all medical or laboratory procedures employed by the referring laboratory. It is expressly understood the Central Community School Board assumes no responsibility for the diagnosis or treatment of any disease or condition that may become known as a result of any laboratory test(s) conducted in the implementation of this drug testing program.
Revised: March, 2015
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 40:961, 49:1111
Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton, 515 U.S. 646 (1995)
Official Handbook, Louisiana High School Athletic Association
Central Community School Board