FILE: IDFAA
Cf: IDFA
SECONDARY ATHLETICS DRUG SCREENING
The St. John the Baptist Parish School Board is dedicated to providing for its students optimal learning experiences in a safe and healthy environment. Because extracurricular activities are not an essential aspect of the educational process in Louisiana, as stated in Bulletin 741, Louisiana Handbook for School Administrators, student participation in athletic activities is a privilege, not an absolute right. Students, therefore, are eligible for participation in such activities on an equal opportunity basis; participation is voluntary and not required by Board policy or mandated by State or Federal law.
Athletic activities in St. John the Baptist Parish, as in other school districts across America, play an important, prominent role in the school and community. The St. John the Baptist Parish School Board is committed to protecting the health and safety of its students and preserving and maintaining a positive learning environment for all. The effect of drugs on memory, motivation, judgment, reaction, coordination, and performance, as well as increasing the risks of sport-related injury, has been well documented. Moreover, St. John the Baptist School Board believes that drug use has severe physical and psychological effects on users, as well as on the entire school, student body, faculty, and community.
Thus, in light of these facts, the express purpose of this policy is to:
Discourage drug use among student participants in athletic activities,
Protect the health and safety of all students who voluntarily participate in athletic activities,
Refer identified students to an educational assistance program, and
Preserve and maintain a safe, healthy, and positive learning environment for the students entrusted to the care of St. John the Baptist Parish School Board.
For the purposes of this policy, the term drug refers to any substance considered illegal by Louisiana Statutes, as well as other drugs such as performance enhancing or stimulating-type drugs; certified laboratory refers to any state or NIDA certified laboratory.
Participation in this drug testing program is not based on suspicion. Therefore, this policy and program is not intended for disciplinary or punitive purposes. No student shall be expelled or suspended from school as a result of any confirmed positive test conducted under these procedures. However, this program does not supersede other drug policies or search and seizure regulations adopted by the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board or enacted by State or Federal law.
The sponsor/coach of each athletic activity shall provide all prospective participants a copy of this policy. Students will also receive a resource list of local agencies that provide professional assistance for drug abuse. With written parental/guardian approval, a student has the right to remove himself/herself from the drug testing pool. If the student removes himself/herself from the drug testing pool before his/her name is randomly drawn, then the student shall not be eligible to participate in athletic activities for the remainder of the school year. This request is to be made in writing to the Superintendent by the parent/guardian. This right is extended up to the time the students name is randomly drawn. Once a student's name is randomly drawn, any student who refuses random testing shall be treated as a confirmed positive. The following school year, to be eligible to participate in athletic activities, after proper removal of a student's name from the random pool, the student must:
Submit a consent form signed by his/her parent/guardian,
Submit to a drug test using a laboratory selected by the Superintendent and approved by the Board at the student's expense,
Submit a negative drug test result taken within one month of the beginning of the school year.
TESTING PROCEDURES
To preserve the integrity and validity of the drug testing program, all urinalysis testing shall be performed by a certified laboratory selected by the Superintendent and approved by the Board. In the first year of implementation, every student in 9th-12th grades wishing to participate in athletic activities for the school year shall submit to an initial drug screening offered in the Fall to be paid by the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board. Initial screenings and random drug tests shall be paid by the St. John the Baptist School Board. Students shall be assigned a number that shall be placed in a random drug testing pool for the remainder of their high school career. Testing shall occur at random intervals with no student being given advance notice of the testing. Students shall be tested the same day his/her random number is drawn. Students shall remain under supervision as outlined herein until they produce a sample. Students unable or refusing to produce a sample shall be treated as a confirmed positive. A strict chain of custody shall be enforced. A student who provides an adulterated sample as ascertained by the screening agent or the certified laboratory shall be treated as a confirmed positive. Students new to any athletic activity, who have not signed the consent form and taken the initial screening offered in the fall, shall be required to submit a consent form and to submit to a urinalysis screening in conformity with this policy at a laboratory selected by the Superintendent and approved by the Board at the student's expense.
Test results shall be disclosed according to strict procedures regarding the chain of custody and access to the results. Test results shall be maintained in the office of the Superintendent or his/her designee. All samples yielding a positive result shall be immediately re-tested for confirmation purposes. A confirmed positive result shall be conclusive evidence that drugs were present in the student's system at the time of the drug test. If the confirmation test is negative, no further action shall be taken. If the confirmation test is positive, the following procedures are enacted:
First Violation:
Upon receipt of a first confirmed positive test, the principal/designee shall notify the parents and the student. The principal shall then notify the athletic director/sponsor. Upon receipt of a confirmed positive result, the student shall be immediately suspended from ALL athletic activities for a minimum of six (6) weeks. The student shall be required to attend a prescribed six (6) weeks mandatory educational assistance program and show verification of attendance. The student must then submit to a re-test at the end of the six weeks period at the student's expense, using a laboratory selected by the Superintendent and approved by the Board. Upon written notification of a negative re-test from a testing laboratory selected by the Superintendent and approved by the Board, and proof of completion of the prescribed educational program, the student shall then be eligible to participate in athletic activities.
Second Violation:
Upon receipt of a second confirmed positive test, the student shall be immediately dismissed from ALL athletic activities for the remainder of that school year. Before re-entry into any athletic activities the next school year, the student shall undergo a drug assessment by a certified substance abuse professional and provide written proof of completion of any prescribed recommendations at the student's expense. Additionally, the student must test negative on a re-test after completion of any prescribed recommendations, at the student's expense, using a laboratory selected by the Superintendent and approved by the Board.
Third Violation:
Upon receipt of a third confirmed positive test during the student's high school career, the student shall be terminated from ALL athletic activities for twelve (12) calendar months. Before re-entry into any athletic activities at the end of twelve (12) calendar months, the student shall undergo a drug assessment by a certified substance abuse professional and provide written proof of completion of any prescribed recommendations at the student's expense. Additionally, the student must test negative on a re-test after completion of any prescribed recommendations, at the student's expense, using a laboratory selected by the Superintendent and approved by the Board.
Fourth Violation:
Upon receipt of a fourth confirmed positive test, the student shall be terminated from ALL athletic activities for the remainder of his/her high school career.
Any re-tests shall be conducted by a laboratory selected by the Superintendent and approved by the Board. Any expense for the re-test, the educational component, and the drug assessment prescribed above shall be the responsibility of the student.
Chain of Custody
To protect the student's identity, the laboratory shall identify each sample according to assigned numbers and not by student names. Only the Superintendent / designee shall have the master list of assigned numbers.
Once a student's number is drawn:
The student shall be escorted to the test site by a gender-appropriate adult where the student signs in and completes a Chain of Custody Control form.
If a student is currently or has taken prescription medications, he/she shall provide to the screening agent notification to be given to the Board appointed medical review officer for confirmation in the event of a confirmed positive test. All requested information concerning prescription medications shall be provided to the Board appointed medical review officer and kept confidential until a confirmed positive test result is received by the Superintendent/designee.
The student shall then be given a specimen container and shall enter the designated stall or other partitioned area that allows for individual privacy.
The student shall remain under supervision until an adequate specimen can be produced.
The student shall hand the specimen to the monitor who will verify the temperature. The student then signs a form verifying that no tampering of the specimen has occurred. A safety seal is then placed over the specimen and sent to the laboratory for testing.
All specimens shall be routinely checked for cocaine, marijuana, amphetamines, opiates, phencyclidine, and/or the metabolites of the aforementioned substances. On a random basis, other illegal drugs such as LSD, heroin, and/or substances listed as a controlled dangerous substance by state statute and/or the metabolites of such substances, as customarily performed by the laboratory, may be screened at the request of the Superintendent/designee.
The Superintendent/designee shall ensure the fair enforcement of this policy and maintain confidentiality. The drug test results of each student shall be kept separate from the student's academic records and shall be destroyed upon the student's graduation, or after two (2) years from the time the student leaves the St. John the Baptist School System. Confidentiality of the test results shall be maintained at all times, other than in the case of a legal subpoena being made in the course of a legal investigation. Neither the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board nor any of its employees shall notify law enforcement personnel in the case of any positive test results acquired directly from this drug testing policy.
The parents, guardians, and student shall release the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board, its members, individually and in their official capacity, as well as any employee, teacher, principal or other school administrator, or personnel, from any and all liability in connection with this policy, the administration of testing procedures and/or test results, any warranties addressing the accuracy of said tests, and any and all medical and laboratory procedures employed by the referring laboratory. It is expressly understood that the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board assumes no responsibility for the diagnosis or treatment of any condition that may become known as a result of any laboratory test conducted in the implementation of this drug testing program.
CONSENT FORM
It is mandatory that each student participating in secondary athletic activities shall sign the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board Drug Testing Consent Forms and obtain the written consent of their parent/guardian permitting the required drug test. By submitting this drug test consent form, the parent/guardian and student consent to the administration of the drug test and waive any claim of invasion of privacy or any objection to action which may be taken in the implementation of this drug testing program or any liability as outlined in the St. John the Baptist School Board's student drug testing program. Refusal to sign this form or to submit to the test shall result in the student being ineligible to participate in any athletic activities offered by the School System as delineated in this drug testing policy
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. ยงยง17:81, 40:961, 49:1111
Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton, 515 U.S. 646 (1995)
Official Handbook, Louisiana High School Athletic Association
St. John the Baptist Parish School Board