FILE: IDFAA
ATHLETIC AND EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY
DRUG SCREENING
It is the policy of the Bogalusa City School Board to take all extra precautions to assure that students will be accorded every reasonable safety measure in high school athletics and extracurricular activities. Extracurricular activity is not a required part of the educational process, and thus is not mandated by the School Board. Through participation in athletics, students in athletics and other extracurricular activities using illegal drugs pose a threat to their own health and safety, as well as to that of other students. The purpose of this program is (1) to provide for the health and safety of all student athletes and other extracurricular students: (2) to undermine the effects of peer pressure by providing a legitimate reason for student athletes and other extracurricular students to refuse to use illegal drugs; and (3) to encourage student athletes and other extracurricular participants who use drugs to participate in drug treatment programs. The program is non-punitive. It is designed to create a safe, drug free environment for student athletes and other participants in extracurricular activities and assist them in getting help when needed.
All high school athletes, male and female, and participants in other extracurricular activities shall be subject to mandatory drug testing by urinalysis, hair sample and/or any other method approved at the sole discretion of the Bogalusa City School Board. This policy calls for testing of up to ten percent (10%) of the currently active interscholastic athletes and other extracurricular participants in Bogalusa High School. The procedure for random drug testing of athletes and extracurricular participants shall be performed in conjunction with an independent drug testing Vendor selected by the Bogalusa City School Board. The Principal and/or the Athletic Director at each school in conjunction with the Vendor, shall determine the date of the testing.
The Vendor shall be provided by the Building Principal and/or the Athletic Director of Bogalusa High School a list of eligible in-season high school student athletes and other extracurricular participants and in turn shall randomly select up to ten percent (10%) of these students for drug testing at regular intervals. The Vendor will send qualified collectors to the school who will oversee the collection of all specimens as outlined in this policy. The Vendor will provide Medical Review Officer (MRO) services for interpretation and verification of results. Results shall be reported to the Principal by the MRO. Urine specimens shall be collected as split specimens. If the sample is positive, the student is offered options of participation in a drug assistance program for six (6) weeks or denial of participation in athletics or extracurricular activities for the current school year and the next school year.
PROCEDURES FOR STUDENT ATHLETES
Informed Consent for Testing
Prior to participating in any Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) sanctioned sport, the student athlete and parent/guardian shall be required to sign the LHSAA Substance Abuse/Misuse Contract and the Bogalusa City School District Drug Testing and Consent form. Extracurricular participants shall be required to sign the Bogalusa School District Drug Testing and Consent form. These arrangements state that all extracurricular participants and student athletes shall be subject to random drug testing. These tests shall be strictly enforced and participation shall be mandatory, since the parents/guardians have freely chosen to allow their son(s)/daughter(s) to participate in such programs. No athlete/extracurricular participant shall be tested unless the parent(s)/guardian(s) and the athlete sign both the LHSAA and Bogalusa City School District forms giving permission to have the tests performed. Refusal to allow these tests to be administered shall immediately serve notice that the student may not participate in any interscholastic athletics or extracurricular activity.
Drug Testing Frequency
At the beginning of each sport season, as determined by the Principal, the Athletic Director, and/or the Louisiana High School Athletic Association, or when a student moves into the Bogalusa City School Board district and joins a sport, all athletes and extracurricular participants wishing to participate in that season’s sports may be subject to testing for illicit or banned substances. Following initial team testing, up to ten percent (10%) of eligible student athletes or other extracurricular participants will be randomly tested anytime during the athletic year. Any student who refuses to submit to drug testing shall not be allowed to practice or participate in athletics, or any extracurricular activities at any high school under the control of the Bogalusa City School Board.
Sample Collection
Samples shall be collected as outlined under Vendor requirements. Any eligible athlete or other extracurricular participant selected randomly for drug testing who is not in school on the day of the testing shall be tested at the next available testing time. Likewise, any student unable to produce an adequate specimen during the collection period shall be subject to retesting at the next selected testing date. Students not able to provide an adequate specimen at the next testing time shall be viewed as refusing to test, and shall not be allowed to practice or participate in athletics or extracurricular activities under the jurisdiction of the School Board. Arrangements may be made for special collections at a Vendor collection site with prior approval of the Principal and/or Athletic Director of each school.
CONFIDENTIALITY OF RESULTS
All drug tests shall be confidential information and handled accordingly. Those persons having results reported to them as set forth in this policy must sign a Confidentiality Statement.
VENDOR REQUIREMENTS
The Vendor must be able to provide services in accordance with this policy, should utilize testing methods which are generally accepted in the scientific community as being reliable, and should have experience in toxicology testing as well as chain-of-custody procedures. The Vendor must be able to test for drug classes or substances as specified by the School Board and/or the LHSAA. The Vendor must report, in a confidential manner, in writing, drug screens as negative or positive, and must report positive findings in a confidential manner to the Principal and/or the Athletic Director of the student athlete or other extracurricular participant’s high school.
The Vendor, testing laboratory or MRO may not release any statistics on the rate of positive drug tests to any person, organization, news publication or media without expressed written consent of the Bogalusa City School Board. However, the Vendor shall provide the Principal and/or the Athletic Director with a quarterly report showing number of tests performed, rate of positive and negative tests, and what substance(s) were found in the positive specimens.
POSITIVE TEST RESULTS
Whenever a student athlete or other extracurricular participant’s test result indicates the presence of illegal drugs or banned substances, or the MRO rules the specimen adulterated, school personnel shall proceed as follows:
The Principal’s Office, within twenty-four (24) hours, shall notify the parent(s)/guardian(s)/custodians(s) first, then the student and Athletic Director of Bogalusa High School. A written notification from the Principal’s office, by form letter, shall be sent to the parent(s)/guardian(s)/custodian(s) by certified mail. The Principal may keep all test results for a period of up to one (1) year.
The student shall be notified and may be required to submit to weekly drug tests for six (6) weeks.
If the parent(s)/guardian(s)/custodian(s) or student wishes to contest the results, the Vendor will arrange for the split portion of the specimen to be submitted to another laboratory approved by the Bogalusa City School Board, for testing. This is to be done at parent(s)/guardian(s)/custodian(s) or student expense. Such a request must be made to the Principal in writing within five (5) working days from first notification of positive test results either to the parent(s)/guardian(s)/custodian(s) or student.
The MRO may use quantitative results to determine if positive results on repeat testing indicate recent use of illicit or banned substances or the natural decline of levels of the illicit or banned substance from the body. If the MRO feels the quantitative levels determined to be above established cutoffs do not reflect current use but natural decay, then a negative result may be reported.
First positive result:
For the first positive result, the student athlete or extracurricular participant shall be given the option of:
Within five (5) days, meet with a Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor or at an agency certified by the State of Louisiana Department of Health and Human Resources for a chemical dependency assessment, and then follow the recommendations of the counselor. (If treatment is recommended, it must be with a Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor). The student must also submit to weekly drug testing for six (6) weeks. The parent(s)/guardian(s)/custodian(s) is/are responsible for all expenses; and
Suspension from the next regularly scheduled game and/or group competition, or
Denial of participation in interscholastic athletics or other extracurricular activities for the remainder of the current season and the next athletic season in any sport or extracurricular activity.
Second positive result:
For the second positive result within any two (2) consecutive calendar years, the student athlete and extracurricular participant shall be permanently denied the privilege of participation in athletics in the Bogalusa City School System.
NON-PUNITIVE NATURE OF POLICY
No student athlete or other extracurricular participant will be penalized academically for testing positive for illegal drugs or banned substances. The results of drug tests pursuant to this policy will not be documented in any student’s academic records. Information regarding the results of drug tests will not be disclosed to criminal or juvenile authorities absent legal compulsion by valid and binding subpoena or other legal process, which the Bogalusa City School Board will not solicit. In the event of service of any such subpoena or legal process, the student and the student’s custodial parent, legal guardian, or custodian shall be notified at least seventy-two (72) hours before response is made by the Bogalusa City School Board, to the extent permitted by such subpoena or legal process.
ILLICIT OR BANNED SUBSTANCES
For the purpose of this policy, the drug classes, substances or their metabolites listed in La. Rev. Stat. 40:964, marijuana, cocaine, opiate, phencyclidine, amphetamines, and any drug classes and substances set forth by the School Board as banned substances shall be considered illicit or banned for purposes of this policy.
DEFINITIONS
Vendor - The medical office or company selected by the School Board, at its sole discretion, to carry out the policy and procedure.
Athletic Director - The individual hired and/or appointed by the respective high schools and/or the Bogalusa City School Board to oversee all athletic programs of the respective high schools and/or the Bogalusa City School Board.
LHSAA - Louisiana High School Athletic Association
Medical Review Officer (MRO) - A licensed physician trained and certified in the process and interpretation of drug testing results.
Illicit substance - A drug classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as being available only by prescription from a physician or classified as being controlled and having no therapeutic use.
Banned substance - A substance defined by Bogalusa City School Board policy as being banned from use by students.
Student Athlete - A qualified student participating on a sanctioned athletic team as defined by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association.
Adulterant/Adulteration - Any attempt to alter the outcome of a drug test by adding a substance to the sample, attempting to switch the sample, or otherwise interfere with the detection of illicit or banned substances in the sample.
Other participants in extracurricular activities - Qualified student participating in other extracurricular activities to include Band, Chorus, Cheerleaders, Paper Dolls and JROTC rifle, drill and color guard teams.
PARENTAL RELEASE
The parent(s) or guardian(s) and the student shall release the Bogalusa City School Board, its members (both individually and in their official capacity), as well as any employee, teacher, principal or other school administrator or personnel from any liability in connection with this policy, the administration of the testing procedures and/or test results, any warranties addressing the accuracy of said tests and any and all medical or laboratory procedures employed by the referring laboratory. It is expressly understood the Bogalusa City School Board assumes no responsibility for the diagnosis or treatment of any disease or condition that may become known as a result of any laboratory test(s) conducted in the implementation of this drug testing program.
NOTE: It is imperative to note that these procedures are only to be used for the appearance of a non-apparent controlled substance. Consequently, if a student athlete or extracurricular activity participant is apprehended by anyone as a result of being in illegal possession of alcohol and/or a controlled substance, or banned substances, the regular school and Bogalusa City School Board disciplinary policies shall apply.
NOTE: The athlete/extracurricular participant will not have a right to a hearing since athletics and extracurricular activities are not an integral part of the school and Bogalusa City School Board curriculum.
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 40:961, 49:1111
Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton, 515 U.S. 646 (1995)
Official Handbook, Louisiana High School Athletic Association
Bogalusa City School Board