Procedures and Guidelines

Each school year, prior to a student's participation in a specified activity, each participating student and a parent/guardian will be invited to attend a drug awareness session. At the session, each student and parent/guardian shall receive information regarding the district's drug testing policy and its procedures. During each session students and parents/guardians will have the opportunity to ask questions they have regarding the program.

At the conclusion of the session, the student shall take home the drug testing policy and have it signed by both the student and a parent/guardian. This procedure and consent form contains the procedures for mandatory and random testing. It provides that the student must sign the consent form to be eligible to participate in covered activities at Monroe City High School.

A student may refuse to be randomly tested, but if he or she chooses to do so, he or she will immediately be suspended from participating in covered activities for 365 calendar days. The student will need to produce a negative test prior to being eligible to practice or participate after the 365 calendar day suspension has been served.

Participating students will be randomly tested, by a contracted company, once they become a part of any covered activity. A random selection of pool members, not to exceed 50 percent of total pool, will be chosen each time a test is given. Once a student enters the testing pool, they will be eligible for random testing for 365 calendar days. All students and their parent(s)/guardian(s) must sign a consent form annually for their student to participate in any covered activity. For random testing, each student will be assigned a number that will be maintained in the school office. Students who wish to drop out of the drug pool must have their parent/guardian come to the school and meet with the activities director. The parent/guardian must sign a release form stating that they no longer wish to participate in the drug pool. Once a student is dropped from the drug pool they are immediately suspended from any covered activity and are no longer allowed back into the pool for the remainder of the academic year in which the student withdrew. The student must, at their expense, produce a negative test result by a school approved testing agency before they will be admitted back into the pool.

Privacy and Confidentiality

The testing method to be administered will be urinalysis. Appropriate steps will be taken to respect the privacy of students while, at the same time, preventing falsification of the testing. Upon receiving a notice from the administration that the student has been selected for a random drug test, the student will then go to an assigned area and wait until it is their turn to produce a specimen.

Prior to being called by the test administrator, the student will be given an identification number by a school official. When called by the test administrator, the student will proceed to the testing site. The student will present the identification number to the test administrator, who will record that number on the test recording form. The test administrator will then ask the student to remove hats and outer garments (if any) and place the contents of the pockets on the testing table. The student will be allowed to return any non-containers to their person. The student will then be asked to select a collection cup. The test administrator will accompany the student to the restroom, where the student will be instructed to place the collection cup on a ledge or counter and then wash their hands. The test administrator will have placed blue dye into each toilet in the restroom and have taped off all but one sink, prior to the student testing or as the student is washing. When the student finishes drying their hands, the test administrator will instruct the student to open the collection cup and empty the contents, step into a pre-selected stall and void into the collection cup. The student will also be asked not to flush any toilet or use any faucet. The test administrator will then step out of the restroom, or behind the restroom outer wall (if there are no outer doors to the restroom), until the student completes the void and comes out of the stall, and places the collection cup on a pre-arranged flat surface.

When the test administrator re-enters the restroom, he will take the collection cup and determine if there is a sufficient amount of specimen to test, that the specimen has an appropriate temperature, and that there is no foreign color or odor to the specimen (if any of the above take place, the test administrator will reject the specimen and collect a second specimen). If the specimen is acceptable for testing, the student will be asked to again wash their hands and then stand by the entrance of the restroom (keeping the specimen in their sight). The test administrator will then open a screening test device and place it in the specimen. When the test administrator completes the screening process, the student will be permitted to leave the test area, unless the initial screen indicates the presence of a drug included on the school testing agenda.

If the screening test indicates a non-negative screen, the verification process will be implemented. Also, a negative specimen may periodically be selected to go through the verification process for internal quality control purposes of the collection company.

The test results will remain confidential and will only be released to the student, his/her parent(s) or guardian(s), and the approved school officials (Principal, Superintendent, Athletic Director, and Athletic Secretary). In addition, the test results will not be used for student discipline and will not become part of the school record or communicated to any other party. All files regarding the participants in the program, as well as test results shall be kept strictly confidential and will be kept separate from the mandatory school files required for each student. Furthermore, if the student has a non-negative test, the administration will not use or reveal a non-negative test result as a reason to search the student's locker, purse, backpack, or other area in which the student keeps his or her personal effects. Test results will not be turned over to the police or authorities without a court order and the administration will not disclose test results without a court order for purposes of a criminal investigation.

Verification of Sample

If a specimen is non-negative, then testing procedures shall be conducted according to procedures designed to ensure integrity of specimens and the chain of custody of specimens. The test administrator will pour the specimen given by the student into a specimen vial(s). The test administrator will pour approximately 30 ml. into the first vial. If there is a sufficient amount of specimen, a second vial of approximately 15 ml. will be poured out. The remaining specimen, if any, will be discarded and the test administrator will complete the chain of custody according to proper collection procedures. The specimen will then be shipped to a SAMSHA certified laboratory for a second screening. If the second screening is non-negative, then a confirmation analysis will be conducted using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The results of the confirmation test will be released to the designated school official, who will then contact the parent(s)/legal guardian(s) of the student, and the student, to arrange a meeting to discuss the test results. The parent/guardian will be put in contact with a MRO (Medical Review Officer) and be asked to verify any medications the student is currently taking in order to determine if there is a legitimate medical reason to explain the presence of the nonnegative drug in the student's specimen.

Disclosure of Other Medications

Upon confirmation by a SAMSHA certified laboratory of a non-negative specimen, the parent/guardian will be put in contact with a MRO (Medical Review Officer) and be asked to verify any medications the student is currently taking in order to determine if there is a legitimate medical reason to explain the presence of the nonnegative drug in the student's specimen.  The MRO (Medical Review Officer) will be solely responsible to determine the validity of the medication producing the non-negative result. If the medication produces a legitimate medical reason for the presence of the drug, the results will be deemed as negative. If there is no legitimate or acceptable medical explanation, the non-negative result will remain. Proof of medication can be given through the presentation of a prescription bottle or through physician verification.

Drugs that Monroe City High School will be testing for:

Monroe City R-I School District will be using a 4-panel up to a 12-panel urine drug screen and can test for the following drugs:  Marijuana (THC), Cocaine, Amphetamines (and Methamphetamines), Opiates, Benzodiazepines, Phencyclidine, Methadone, Barbiturates, Tricyclic Antidepressants, Ecstasy, Propoxyphene, Osycodone.