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P 2642 Student Drug Testing Policy

The Stockton R-1 Board of Education, in an effort to protect the health and safety of its students from illegal and/or performance enhancing drug use and abuse or injuries resulting from use of drugs, thereby setting an example for all other students of the school district, adopts the following policy for drug testing of students participating in extracurricular activities.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND INTENT

It is the desire of the Board of Education, administration, and staff that all students in the Stockton R-1 School District refrain from using, possessing, and/or distributing illegal drugs and alcohol. As a part of the educational curriculum of this District, the Board believes that all students should be encouraged to remain drug and alcohol free in their personal lives. The Board further believes that it is the District's responsibility to create an educational atmosphere which promotes freedom from the use of drugs and alcohol, encourages students to resist peer pressure, establishes high standards of personal conduct, provides a sense of order in the school and at school activities, supports laws which prohibit the use of drugs and alcohol, and provides parents with support in raising their children to be drug and alcohol free adults and citizens. The sanctions of this policy relate solely to limiting the opportunity of any student in violation of this policy to participate in extracurricular or co-curricular activities and parking privileges. This policy is intended to supplement and complement all other policies, rules, and regulations regarding possession or use of illegal drugs and alcohol.

Participating in school sponsored activities and clubs and driving on campus at the Stockton R-1 School District is a privilege. Accordingly, students involved in such activities carry a responsibility to themselves, their fellow students, their parents, and their school to set the highest possible examples of conduct, which includes avoiding the use or possession of illegal drugs and alcohol.

The purpose of this policy is to prevent illegal drug use and to strive for a safe environment free of illegal drug use and abuse within the Stockton R-1 School District. The sanctions of this policy relate solely to limiting the opportunity of any student in violation of this policy to participate in all extra-curricular activities, co-curricular activities, and driving privileges on campus. There will be no academic sanction for violation of the district's discipline policy. If the discipline drug policy is violated, the student will be subject to the penalties of the discipline policy and the violation will also be counted as a violation of the "Activities Drug Testing Policy". In the event the student is involved in a co-curricular activity, alternative assignments will be offered to prevent academic decline.

Illegal drug use of any kind is incompatible with participation in all extra-curricular activities within the Stockton R-1 School District. For the safety, health, and well-being of the students the Stockton R-1 School District has adopted this policy for use by students in grades 7-12 who participate in extra-curricular or co-curricular activities and parking privileges.

Application of Policy Goals and Objective to School Environment - Students who represent the District in competitive extracurricular activities and/or performances are leaders in the school environment. Participation in these extracurricular activities/performances, along with parking on school grounds during the regular school day is a privilege and not a right. It is essential that these student leaders uphold the highest possible standards of conduct as role models for the rest of the student body and as representatives of their school and community. A properly administered drug testing program for all students who represent the District in competitive extracurricular activities and/or performances and/or who wish to park a personal vehicle on school grounds during the school day will promote these goals and objectives.

Definitions - The terms are defined for purposes of this Policy:

"Activities" - means any school sponsored extracurricular activity and/or performance in which a student represents the District, in the opinion of the District's Administration. Activities include all Missouri State High School Activities Association ("MSHSAA") regulated activities and events such as but not limited to athletics, band, choir, cheerleading, academic competition, and any club or organization sponsored by Stockton High School or Stockton Middle School.

"Activity Season" - means the period of time specified by the Missouri State High School Activities Association, the District, or some other governing body, as the time during which the Activities may be conducted. This time period shall be further defined to begin with the first scheduled competition/performance and end with the last scheduled competition/performance and shall not include training time which is allowed prior to the first competition/performance.

"Co-curricular Activities" - refer to activities or performances outside the classroom as a result of being enrolled in a school related class. Any participant who is suspended from performances/activities due to failure of a drug test will not be allowed to perform during the suspension period but will be provided alternative assignments by the classroom teacher to ensure that the participant is not hindered academically.

"Consent Form" - means the Parent/Guardian Drug Testing Consent Form which is adopted by the District's Administration.

"Contests/Performances" - means the scheduled games, matches, contests, or performances (including District, Sectional and State contests) for any Activity.

"Controlled Substance" - means any substance listed in Section 195.010 RSMo and Schedules I through V of Chapter 195, RSMo. Examples of such substances include, but are not limited to, marijuana, hashish, cocaine, crack, amphetamines, methamphetamine, barbiturates, opium, and heroin.

"Deadline Date" - means that a student who wishes to participate in extra-curricular, cocurricular, or parking privileges as previously explained will need to complete a consent form for testing within the first 10 days of school or 10 days after enrollment.

"Parking Privilege" - means that a student who has completed the necessary forms and paid the fees is given the privilege of parking on school grounds during the regular school day. This does not refer to attending nighttime or after school hour events.

"Drug" - means any controlled substance or other drug which requires a prescription which the Participant does not possess.

"Drug Test" - means a validated method to test for the presence of controlled substances and drugs in a person's urine.

"Extra-curricular activities" - refers to activities in which the student participates outside the regular course of study.

"Performance Enhancing Drug" - includes anabolic steroids and any other natural or synthetic substance used to increase muscle mass, strength, endurance, speed, or other athletic ability. The term does not include dietary or nutritional supplements such as vitamins, minerals, and proteins, which can be lawfully purchased over-the-counter.

"Participant" - means any student in grades seven through twelve who participates (or desires to participate) in Activities or who obtains a parking permit.

Procedures for Testing - Consent Form -

In order to participate in Activities, a Participant must provide the District with a signed Consent Form. The Consent Form will be distributed at the beginning of the school year and must be signed and returned no later than the Deadline Date, regardless of when the student will participate in the Activities. For parking privileges the student will be required to provide a signed consent form prior to receiving parking privileges. The Consent Form will be provided to students who enroll after the first of the school year. Students must submit the signed Consent Form within ten days following his/her enrollment date.

Any student who fails to return a signed Consent Form by the Deadline Date will be subjected to the following criteria:

The student will be prohibited from participating in any activity during the school year, or

Should the student choose to sign the Consent Form after the Deadline Date, the student will be required to submit to a drug testing at the next drug testing period. Exemptions of this type will only be allowed once during his/her middle school career and once during his/her high school career. Any deviation from this policy must be approved by the Administration.

Procedures for Testing - Random Selection -

Each Participant who has returned a signed Consent Form will be assigned a random number for testing purposes. The Participant's Drug Testing number will be used by the laboratory which conducts the Drug Tests to refer to the Participant. In order to assure privacy, the name of any student who is tested shall be known to the school superintendent and only to building administrator on a "need to know" basis. The selection procedure shall be performed by the laboratory testing personnel who are used by the District. Selection of the Participants for each Drug Test shall be accomplished by random sample of all Participants. The selection process will follow scientifically accepted random sampling techniques.

Random testing will be conducted at the frequency and volume as the school superintendent deems necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the program.

Procedures for Testing - Drug Test and Test Result Reporting -

Participants who are selected by random sample will be asked to provide a urine specimen. In order to assure privacy, the specimen shall be collected in a private restroom facility behind a closed stall. The process will be supervised by trained personnel who will remain outside the stall. The specimen will be observed for normal characteristics to insure the validity of the test. A routine chain-of-custody protocol will be observed with respect to the specimen.

A screening test will be performed on the specimen by trained laboratory personnel. If the screening test is positive, it will be considered a "non-negative" test result. Every effort will be made to insure that no person, other than appropriate District Administrators or personnel, knows the identity of the Participant who produces a "nonnegative" specimen. A confirmation test will be run on all "non-negative" specimens. If the confirmation test is positive, the designated laboratory personnel will notify the designated District Administrators that a positive result was obtained.

The designated District Administrator will contact the parent or guardian of any Participant who has a positive test result. If the student/parents assert that the positive test was caused by something other than the consumption of an illegal substance, the student/parents will have 72 hours to produce evidence to the medical review officer. This evidence should include a list of all substances, along with the appropriate prescriptions that the student may have taken prior to testing.

The District will rely on the opinion of the laboratory's medical review officer with respect to the validity of the specimen, the cooperativeness of the Participant during the testing procedure, the results of the drug test, and any additional information provided by participant/parents.

CONSEQUENCES

A participant who tests positive on a Drug Test administered under this Policy shall be subjected to the following penalties:

First Offense -The participant shall be suspended from participation in all extracurricular and/or co-curricular activities including meetings, performances and competition and suspended from parking privileges on campus as previously defined for 45 calendar days. During this time, it is recommended that the parent/guardian obtain a substance abuse evaluation/risk assessment and counseling for the student. If the participant participates in drug counseling with a licensed counselor at the parent's expense for a minimum of five (5) hours, the participant will be reinstated in the activities and performances after a 30 day suspension from activities. Documentation from the licensed counselor will be mandatory.

Each Participant who is suspended from extracurricular activities/performances because of a positive drug test will be required to pass a drug test administered by the Stockton R-1 School District's testing service. The re-testing will be within 180 calendar days after failing the first test. After passing a drug test and being reinstated, the Participant will be placed back in the testing pool and will be eligible for random testing.

During the suspension from activities, the participant is required to attend all activities/practices as directed by the coach/sponsor but will not be allowed to participate in any events.

Participant may be removed from any elected or appointed office, school club or performance. Decision for removal will be made by the building administrator with input from the club sponsor.

Second offense - Participant will be removed for 365 calendar days which could be reduced to 180 calendar days if the student participates in a counseling program as explained in the First Offense at parent's expense but must receive at least 15 hours of on-going counseling from a licensed counselor.

Participant maybe allowed to practice and attend the district's summer camps during his or her suspension. Participation in practices and summer camps may be allowed to ensure that the participant maintains the ability to perform once he or she is able to return to competition.

Third offense - Participant will be suspended from all extracurricular and cocurricular activities and will be restricted from parking privileges on campus for the remainder of his or her school career.

All Participants are expected to cooperatively participate in the procedures set forth in this Policy. A Participant, who refuses by word or actions, to cooperate with a Drug Test conducted under this Policy, in the opinion of the personnel conducting the Drug Test, shall be treated as if he/she had a positive test result of a Drug Test and will be subjected to the consequences described above.

A Participant who engages in conduct which gives the District or personnel conducting the Drug Test the reasonable belief that the Participant has (or has attempted to) alter, adulterate, modify or change any specimen, Drug Test or Drug Test record, shall be treated as if he/she had a positive test result of a Drug Test and will be subject to the consequences described above.

Appeal Procedure - If a Participant receives a suspension from extracurricular and cocurricular activities including parking privileges pursuant to this Policy, the Participant may appeal the decision in writing to the Superintendent. The Participant's written appeal shall be reviewed and a decision shall be rendered within five (5) working days following the date the written appeal was received by the Superintendent. During the appeal process, the Participant remains suspended from all extracurricular activities, cocurricular activities, and parking privileges.

In unique situations that have not been addressed within this policy, the Administration reserves the right to deviate from this policy.


Last Updated: February 2013