JFCI - VOLUNTARY RANDOM DRUG TESTING

PHILOSOPHY AND PURPOSE

The board recognizes its share of the responsibility for the health, welfare, and safety of the students who attend the District’s schools. The use of narcotic drugs, depressants, and other controlled substances illegally and/or inappropriately constitutes a hazard to the positive development of students and interferes with students’ abilities to learn and function responsibly in both school and community settings. Therefore, anything that can interfere with the development of an adolescent must be evaluated as to its impact to both the student and the community.

The District defines drug abuse and misuse as a serious health problem and is committed to discouraging this behavior and to encouraging parents and young people to seek help should a problem arise.

In 2002, the United States Supreme Court upheld the right of a school district to require middle and high school students to consent to urinalysis testing for drugs in order to participate in any co-curricular activity and ruled that this does not violate the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution (Board of Education of Independent School District of Pottawatomie County v. Earls).

The District’s random voluntary drug testing program is designed to discourage and to prevent drug misuse and abuse while protecting students’ Fourth Amendment Rights by adhering closely to all aspects of the Supreme Court rulings.

STATEMENT OF POLICY

Students will participate in a voluntary random drug testing program. Parents of middle school students may elect to participate in the program by submitting a Voluntary Random Drug Testing Parental/Guardian Permission Form.

At least once during each quarter, a group of students’ names will be randomly selected by an outside agency for urinalysis drug testing. The outside agency will notify the selected student’s parents who will then determine if they would like to proceed with the screening for their child.

The District will pay for the random drug tests that have been conducted by the outside agency. Total confidentiality will be maintained and any follow-up for counseling or disciplinary action will be the parents’ decision.

The outside agency will not send the results of the testing to the school. However, families may choose to contact the school’s substance abuse prevention specialists for guidance and assistance. All contact with prevention specialists is completely confidential and the school will take no disciplinary action unless so directed by the parent.