Alcohol and drug abuse are serious problems today in America, and schools including Marshfield R-I Schools are not immune. The administration of Marshfield R-I Schools have noted and documented both formally and informally an increase in the use of drugs and alcohol by students, including those students participating in extracurricular and co-curricular activities. The administration and School Board support a zero tolerance policy and believe that all students in the Marshfield R-I Schools have a right to participate in extracurricular and co-curricular activities in a safe and drug free environment.
The goal is not to levy discipline, but rather to aid in the discovery and prevention of possible drug-related problems. A goal of this program is to open the lines of communication between the parents, students, and the school in dealing with drug and alcohol abuse.
In an effort to protect the health and safety of its students from illegal drug use and abuse or injuries resulting from the use of drugs, Marshfield R-I Schools adopts the following policy.
DefinitionsAlcohol: Defined as ethyl alcohol or any beverage containing ethyl alcohol.
And/or: These words, when used together, shall be construed conjunctively rather than disjunctively, so as to bring within this policy what might otherwise be viewed as outside of this policy.
Illegal Drugs: The synthetic or generic equivalent or derivative drugs which are illegal under federal, state, or local laws, including but not limited to marijuana, alcohol, heroin, hashish, cocaine, hallucinogens, depressants, and stimulants not prescribed for the user. Illegal drugs include steroids and steroid derivatives or related substances, which are not prescribed by a physician or are prescribed by a physician for uses not authorized by the manufacturer of the drug. This term shall include but shall not be limited to all drugs listed in the Narcotic Drug Act, section 195.101, RSMo, and Section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 812.
Random Testing: Students covered by this policy will be subject to random selection for testing. In implementing the procedure, each student participating in extracurricular activities will be assigned a number. On each testing day, a predetermined number of said students will be selected using a table of random numbers (done by an outside firm). If a student selected in this manner is absent, the next proceeding number will be selected.
Co-curricular Activities: Activities that students participate in outside of the classroom as a result of being enrolled in a school-offered class.
Extracurricular Activities: Activities that take place outside the regular course of study in school and are sponsored by the school.
Pending Positive Test: Any test that once initially tested shows a positive result. A lab has not yet verified this test.
Positive Drug Test: A drug test administered under this policy, a toxicological test result which is considered to demonstrate the presence of an illegal drug or the metabolites thereof using the standards customarily established by the testing laboratory administering the drug use test. This term may alternatively be referenced as a "positive," a "positive test," or a "positive result."
ProcedureEach student wishing to participate will be required to complete a consent form and return it to the high school / junior high office within the first ten days of school. Any newly enrolling student and the parent / guardian will have ten days from the date of enrollment to sign and return a consent form. Any student not completing the consent form and returning it within the prescribed time will be ineligible to participate in extracurricular and/or co-curricular activities for the entire school year.
A student in grades seven or eight may appeal to join the drug testing pool in order to participate in an activity at a later date during the school year. A ninth grade student may appeal to join the drug testing pool only during the first semester. The appeal must be submitted in writing and will then be reviewed by a committee of school personnel. Students electing to follow the appeal process are not guaranteed participation in activities.
Students will be required to provide urine or saliva samples as follows:
Any drug test required by the Marshfield R-I School District under the terms of the policy will be administered by a third party administrator using an immunoassay test. A pending positive is then confirmation tested at a federally approved toxicology laboratory using scientifically recognized toxicological methods. The certified laboratory shall be required to have written specifications to assure chain of custody of the specimens, proper laboratory control and scientific testing.
All aspects of the drug-use testing program, including the taking of specimens, will be conducted so as to safeguard the personal and privacy rights of students and staff to the maximum degree possible. The test specimen shall be obtained in a manner designed to minimize the intrusiveness of the procedure. In particular, the student will be allowed to give the urine specimen in a private restroom behind a closed door. The monitor shall wait outside the door until the specimen has been produced. The student will hand the specimen to the monitor who will thereafter verify the normal warmth and appearance of the specimen. The monitor will then test the specimen. If at any time during the testing the monitor has reason to believe or suspect that a student is tampering with the specimen, the monitor may stop the procedure and inform the principal who will then determine if a new sample should be obtained.
If, during the drug testing procedure, a student delays urination beyond a reasonable period of time a saliva test may be administered. If the monitor witnesses anything indicating an attempt to tamper with the specimen or otherwise interfere with monitor's ability to detect illegal drugs, or if there is a reasonable suspicion of use of a test altering substance, the district may send the sample to the drug lab for more specific and accurate tests regardless of whether the first test is negative. If the initial test is positive, the initial test result will then be subject to confirmation by a second and different test of the same specimen. In order to keep the results of the initial testing confidential, the district may choose a certain number of samples for a confirmation test. The second test will use gas chromatography/mass spectrometry technique. A specimen shall not be reported positive unless the second test utilizing the gas chromatography/mass
spectrometry procedure is positive for the presence of an illegal drug of the metabolites thereof.
If the gas chromatography/mass spectrometry test for any student has a positive result, the principal will contact the parents or guardians and solicit any information on medication, which would create a positive test. A medical review officer will confirm the positive result and contact the principal with the results. The principal will then notify the parents/guardian.
Appeal ProcedureWithin two (2) working days of receipt of the positive drug test, the principal will contact the activities director, coach/sponsor, and or other individual responsible for supervising the extracurricular or co-curricular activity. The principal will then within two (2) working days contact the student, the parent or custodial guardian to schedule a conference. The conference shall be held within ten (10) working days of initial contact with the student or the custodial guardian. If the student, parent or custodial guardian refuses to participate or respond to a request for a conference, the student will be deemed to have waived any right to further appeal the positive drug test.
If a conference is held, the principal will solicit any explanation of the positive drug test. If the student asserts that the positive drug test is caused by other than the consumption of an illegal drug, then the student, parent or custodial guardian will be given ten (10) working days from the date of the conference to present evidence to the principal. If the student fails to or refuses to present any evidence within the 10-day period, the student will be deemed to have waived any right to further appeal the positive drug test. The Marshfield R-I School District will rely on the opinion of the laboratory which performed the confirmation test in determining whether the positive test result by other than the consumption of an illegal drug. The principal will make a decision within two (2) working days of presentation of the student's evidence.
This decision may be appealed in writing to the Marshfield R-I School District's Superintendent within two (2) working days. Failure to appeal to the superintendent waives any further right to appeal the positive drug test. The superintendent will make a decision within two (2) working days.
The decision of the superintendent may be appealed to the Marshfield R-I Schools Board of Education within five (5) working days. Failure to appeal to the Board of Education waives any further right to appeal. The procedures set forth in Board of Education policy 2671 will be generally followed in case of appeal. However, the Board of Education reserves the right to modify such procedures as it determines to be appropriate under the circumstances.
Initiating appeal procedures does not suspend imposition of the restrictions listed below while the appeal process is ongoing.
If a student tests negative in the initial screening, the student and the parent or custodial guardian will be contacted by personnel of the Marshfield R-I School District within five (5) working days of receipt of the testing results.
Retest After Service of SuspensionAt the conclusion of the 28-day activity suspension the student will be allowed to rejoin the activity/sport. A student who has tested positive and has served the required suspension period will be required to undergo one or more additional drug-use tests during the following 365 days, as determined at the discretion of the Marshfield R-I School District. He/she will again be drug-tested on the first random testing date following the activity suspension. In the case of retesting a student suspended for marijuana, a lower level of the substance might continue to be evident for up to 90 days because of the extended length of time the substance stays in the body. In this situation the student would continue activity participation. If the marijuana level stays the same or increases on the additional tests it will be treated as a second positive test. It will also be considered a second positive if any level is detected after 90 days.
ConfidentialityTest results shall be kept in confidential files separate from a student's permanent educational records and those files will be destroyed upon the student's graduation from school. Test results shall be released to school personnel only on a "need to know" basis. For the purpose of the random drug testing process a number assigned by the principal will identify all students. The students' names will not be disclosed to the drug testing company unless the sample collected requires further testing because of being identified as a pending positive.
ViolationsAny student who tests positive in a drug-use test under this procedure shall be subject to the following restrictions:
The student shall be suspended from participation or attendance in all extracurricular and/or co-curricular activities for twenty-eight (28) calendar days from the date of the positive drug test. During this time the parent/guardian may obtain -- at the parent/guardian's own expense -- a substance abuse evaluation and education/ counseling for the student. Students who are in enrolled in a class that involves co-curricular activities will remain in the class during the twenty-eight (28) days and may participate in classroom activities, but may not participate in any activities outside the regularly scheduled class time.
If, because of the suspension, the student is unable to participate in the activity which constitutes a portion of the student's grade, the student will be given the opportunity to complete alternative assignments so that the student can earn the grade as he/ she would have had they been allowed to participate in the activity.
The student shall be suspended from participation or attendance in all extracurricular and/or co-curricular activities including all meetings, practices, performances, and competitions for 365 days from the date of the positive drug test of the second offense as stated in this procedure.
If, because of the suspension, the student is unable to participate in an activity which constitutes a portion of the student's grade the student will be given the opportunity to complete alternative assignments so that the student can earn the same grade as he/she would have had they been allowed to participate in the activity.
The student shall be suspended from participation or attendance in all extracurricular and/or co-curricular activities including all meetings, practices, performances and competitions for the length of the students enrollment at Marshfield R-1 School District from the date of the positive drug test of the third offense as stated in this procedure.
If because of the suspension, the student is unable to participate in an activity which constitutes a portion of the student's grade, the student will be given the opportunity to complete alternative assignments so that the student can earn the same grade as he/she would have had they been allowed by participating in the activity.
Refusal to submit to Drug Use test
If a member of the random drug testing pool refuses to submit to a drug use test authorized under this policy, the refusal to be tested will be treated as a positive drug test and such student will be ineligible to participate or attend any extracurricular and/or co-curricular activities including all meetings, practices, performances, and competitions for the length of the suspension, at which time they would have the opportunity to submit to the authorized test. Additional refusal would eliminate that student from extracurricular and/or co-curricular events for one year. Continual refusal will be treated as positive drug tests under this policy, which will result in loss of eligibility for the remainder of their high school career.
Requesting removal from the pool will automatically cause the student to be suspended from participation or attendance in all extracurricular and/or co-curricular activities including all meetings, practices, performances, and competitions for 365 days.
Drug Counseling and Assistance
The main goal of this drug testing policy is to educate students regarding the serious problems of drug and alcohol abuse. As such, drug counseling and assistance programs may be sought by the parents of any student who has a positive drug test under this policy. If requested by the parents/guardian, assistance in obtaining help for the student will be provided by the school counselors. Any costs for assistance otherwise or enrollment into any drug counseling sessions will be exclusively the responsibility of the student or parent guardian.