REASONABLE SUSPICION ALCOHOL AND DRUG TESTING
DEFINITIONS:
Drugs and Alcohol: Any substance considered illegal by Washington State Statue or which is controlled by the Food and Drug Administration and its use, under the circumstances would be unlawful.
PROCEDURES FOR STUDENTS
Reasonable Suspicion: Whenever a District administrator has facts reasonably indicating a particular student is under the influence of drugs or alcohol at school or at a school activity, the student may, at the discretion of the administrator, be directed to undergo drug or alcohol testing. Before directing the student to undergo testing, the administrator must first explain to the student (1) the grounds of his or her suspicion, (2) that a test may be required, (3) the consequences for refusing to undergo testing, and then offer the student a chance to voluntarily submit to the test, the student shall be tested only for substances for which a reasonable suspicion exists (e.g. drugs or alcohol). If the student and/or parent refuse to comply with the administrator’s directive to undergo reasonable suspicion based testing, the refusal shall subject the student to disciplinary consequences equal to those for using the substance he or she is suspected to have used. An administrator’s decision not to require or offer a student drug or alcohol testing does not preclude the District from establishing a violation of policies prohibiting drug or alcohol use through other evidence.
Alcohol Testing:
The district will use an alcohol analyzer to test from the Confirming Products List generated by the National Highway Safety Administration to test for alcohol. This will occur any time there is question about an individual student's possible use. Only trained personnel will administer the test.
Drug Testing
For controlled substances, urine samples will be collected at school or at a designated collection site. All samples will be collected following SAMHSA guidelines which call for an unobserved urine collection under controlled conditions. The testing will occur as soon as reasonably possible after the student is directed to submit to the test. If a student is unable to produce a sample, they may be given up to twenty-four ounces of fluid to drink and directed to remain at the collection site for up to two hours. The student must remain within the collection site under observation to discourage actions which could compromise the collection process (drinking excessive fluids, obtaining “clean” urine, obtaining adulterants, etc.). If after a period of two hours the donor is still unable to provide an adequate sample, the collection will be discontinued and treated as a shy bladder situation.
Parents will be notified by phone when a student is directed to undergo testing.
Procedures in the event of a “Shy Bladder” situation: If a student is unable to provide a sample, he or she may be referred to a physician to determine if there is a medical reason for failure to void. If the physician determines there is no medical reason, the consequences will be as if there had been a “positive”result.
Procedures in the event of sample tampering or adulteration: If during the collection or testing process, it is determined that a student made an attempt to adulterate or tamper with the urine sample, the consequences shall be as if the student had a “positive” test.
TESTING/ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES
All samples will be sent to a SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Services Administration) certified laboratory where the testing will be done following established federal guidelines and using mandated cutoff levels for both the screening and confirmatory procedures. Each specimen undergoes an integrity check for dilution and adulterants. The sample is then screened using immunoassay technology. If the initial determination is found to be negative, the results will be reported as negative. If the initial drug screen is positive, a new aliquot will be taken from the original specimen.
This aliquot is then tested by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) for the specific drug found positive on the screen. If the GC/MS result is negative, the drug test is considered negative. If the result is positive by both immunoassay and GC/MS confirmation and all relevant quality control data is in order, the drug test will be considered positive and reported to the Medical Review Officer (MRO) appointed by the School Board.
PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION
Students who are taking prescription medication or who have eaten food containing poppy seeds within the last three days may provide this information to the laboratory on their Drug Screen Requisition Form at the time of collection. While this information is not necessary for testing purposes, some medication and food substances may be detected. The medication or digestive history of the student may be helpful to assure the proper interpretation of the laboratory findings. Such information provided by the student will not be disclosed to any school official. If a test is positive, the laboratory will forward the medication history along with the test result to the district’s MRO. These findings will be discussed with the student by the MRO. Depending on the discussion and test results, the MRO may request a copy of the prescription or a physicians’ verification to confirm to override the laboratory findings.
RESULT REPORTING
The testing laboratory will report results only to the authorized high school principal or designee. Negative results will be forwarded directly from the laboratory to the authorized individual. Positive results, require MRO review, will be sent to the designated physician first, who will review and discuss with the student. Following that review and discussion, the MRO will forward his/her findings to the high school principal or designee.
SCOPE OF TESTS - ILLEGAL DRUGS
The testing lab will be instructed to test for one or more illegal drugs. The Superintendent shall decide which illegal drugs will be screened. Student samples will not be screened for the presence of any substances other than illegal drugs or for the existence of any physical condition other than drug intoxication.
PROCEDURES IN THE EVENT OF A POSITIVE RESULT
Illegal Drugs: Whenever a student's test result indicates the presence of illegal drugs (A “Failed or Positive” Test), the following will occur:
Medical Officer Review: The results will be sent from the laboratory to the MRO. It is the job of the MRO to evaluate the test results and to consult with the student to ascertain if medication or dietary considerations could be the cause of the Positive result. The MRO may take up to seventy-two hours to reach the donor and to complete the evaluation before the school district is notified. At the request of the student, his or her parents or guardian may participate in this consultation/discussion.
Note: If the student or his or her parent or guardian requests in writing from the District, within seventy-two hours of the District’s notification of a positive drug test results, an aliquot of the original sample will be sent to another SAMHSA certified laboratory for additional confirmation. This additional testing will be at the parent or legal guardian’s expense unless the results are negative.
Parent Review: After the district receives a verified Positive result from the MRO, a custodial parent or guardian will be notified, and a meeting scheduled involving the principal or designee, the student and the custodial parent or guardian to discuss the results and consequences.
Alcohol: If the breath alcohol analyzer result is positive, a second t es t will be given approximately fifteen minutes later to confirm the result.
Consequences:
Positive tests shall subject the student to disciplinary consequences under the District’s policies prohibiting student use of alcohol or drugs. Positive test results are
not required to find violations of alcohol or drug testing polices and negative test results do not preclude a finding that such a violation occurred if there is other substantial evidence of a violation. If a reasonable suspicion existed to direct the student to undergo testing, the student’s refusal to submit to testing shall have consequences equal to those for a violation of policies prohibiting use of drugs or alcohol
Updated: 08-25-08
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY DRUG TESTING AUTHORIZATION
I understand that my performance as an extracurricular activity participant and the reputation of my school are dependent, in part, on my conduct as an individual. I hereby agree to accept and abide by the standards, rules, and regulations set forth by the Burlington-Edison School District Board and the appointed leaders for activities in which I participate.
I (the student) authorize the Burlington-Edison School District to conduct tests on urine specimens which I provide to test for drugs and/or alcohol use. I also authorize the use of a breathalyzer test as needed. I understand that the release of information concerning the results of such tests will be made by the testing agency only to the Burlington-Edison School District and to the parents and/or guardians of the student.
This shall be deemed a consent pursuant to the Family Education Right to Privacy Act for the release of above information to the parties named above.
Student Signature: Date:
Parent or Guardian Signature Date:
(This form must be completed and on file at Burlington-Edison High School prior to the student participating in any extracurricular program.)
Updated: 06-30-99