4218.3
Policy
Personnel
Non-Certified
Employee Rights
Drug & Alcohol
Testing
The Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools will comply with
state and federal laws regarding the drug and alcohol testing of school bus
drivers. The Superintendent shall
develop regulations governing the rules and procedures related to this testing
in compliance with state and federal laws.
Legal Reference: Omnibus Transportation
Employee Testing Act of 1991
Adopted: March 6, 1995
4218.3
Regulation
Alcohol and Drug Testing for School Drivers
It is the policy of this
This
Implementation Date
The testing program referred to in this policy shall be
implemented on January 1, 1996.
Definitions
For the purpose of this policy, the following terms are
defined:
Alcohol—The
intoxicating agent in beverage alcohol, ethyl alcohol or other low molecular
weight alcohols including methyl and isopropyl alcohol.
Driver—Any person who operates a commercial motor vehicle. This includes full time, regularly employed
drivers; casual; intermittent or occasional drivers; leased drivers and
independent, owner-operated contractors.
Drug—For purposes of this policy includes any of the following
controlled substances: marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines, and
phencyclidine.
Medical
Review Officer—A licensed physician (medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy)
responsible for receiving laboratory results generated by an employer’s drug
testing program who meets the qualifications as listen in 49 C.F.R. 40.3.
Safety-Sensitive
Function—Includes all on-duty functions performed from the time a driver begins
work or is required to be ready to work until he or she is relieved from work
and all responsibility to performing work.
It includes driving; waiting to be dispatched; inspecting and servicing
equipment; supervising, performing or assisting in loading and unloading; repairing
or obtaining and waiting for help with a disabled vehicle; performing driver
requirements related to accidents; and performing any other work for the
district or paid work for any other entity.
Substance
Abuse Professional—A licensed physician or certified psychologist, social
worker, employee assistance professional or certified addiction counselor with
knowledge of and clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of alcohol
and drug-related disorders.
Program Coordinator
The Board shall designate the Superintendent or designee
as the program coordinator to implement the alcohol and drug testing program of
the district within the guidelines of this policy.
Alcohol and Drug
Prohibitions
No driver shall report for duty or remain on duty
requiring the performance of safety-sensitive functions when the driver uses
any drug, except when the use is pursuant to the instructions of a physician
who has advised the driver that the substance does not adversely affect the
driver’s ability to safely perform the function. No driver shall report for duty, remain on
duty or perform a safety-sensitive function if the driver tests positive for
drugs.
Pre-Employment Tests
An alcohol and drug test shall be conducted in accordance
with federal regulations before and bus driver is permitted to perform a
safety-sensitive function for the district.
Testing for newly hired drivers shall be conducted after the offer of
employment but before employment commences.
Offers of employment are contingent on these test results. A refusal to submit to drug and alcohol
testing and/or refusal to release information as required by the district shall
remove the applicant from employment consideration. Such testing will also be required of any
employee transferring into a covered position.
Exceptions may be made for drivers who have had the
alcohol test required by law within the previous six months and participated in
the drug testing program required by law within the previous 30 days, provided
that the district has been able to make all verifications required by law.
Post-Accident Tests
Alcohol and drug tests shall be conducted as soon as
practicable after an accident on any driver:
1. Who was performing safety-sensitive functions with
respect to the vehicle, if the accident involved loss of human life; or
2. Who receives a citation under state or local law for
a moving traffic violation arising from a recordable accident. A recordable accident includes: (a) a fatality; (b)
bodily injury requiring treatment away from the accident scene and (c)
disabling damage to one or more vehicles requiring the vehicle to be
towed or transported away from the scene of he accident.
Drivers
shall make themselves readily available for testing, unless such driver has the
need for immediate medical attention.
No such driver shall use alcohol for eight hours after
the accident, or until after her or she undergoes a post-accident alcohol test,
whichever occurs first.
Post accident testing requirements may be fulfilled by
properly administered tests conducted by federal, state and/or local law
enforcement officials as long as the results of those tests are provided to the
district.
Random Testing
Alcohol and drug testing shall be conducted on a random
basis at unannounced times throughout the year in accordance with federal
regulations. Tests for alcohol shall be
conducted just before, during, or just after the performance of
safety-sensitive functions. Drivers
shall be selected by a scientifically valid random process, and each driver
shall have and equal chance of being tested each time selections are made.
Reasonable Suspicion
Tests
Any qualified supervisor or district administrator who
has reasonable suspicion to believe that a bus driver has violated the alcohol
or drug prohibitions of the district shall require the driver to submit to
reasonable suspicion testing. A
qualified supervisor or administrator must be a person who has been properly
trained, in accordance with federal regulations, to make a determination that
reasonable suspicion exists. This
reasonable suspicion must be based on specific, contemporaneous, articulable observations concerning appearance,
behavior, speech or body odors of the driver.
The observations may include indications of the chronic and withdrawal
effects of drugs.
Alcohol testing is authorized for reasonable suspicion
only if the required observations are made just before, during or just after
the period of the work day when the driver must comply with alcohol
prohibitions. An alcohol test may not be
conducted by the person who determines reasonable suspicion exists to conduct
such a test. If an alcohol test is not
administered within two hours of a determination of reasonable suspicion, the
district shall prepare and maintain a record explaining why this was not
done. Attempts to conduct alcohol test
shall terminate after eight hours, and the district will state in the record
the reasons for not administering the test.
A qualified supervisor or district administrator who
makes observations leading to a reasonable suspicion test shall make a written
record of his or her observations within 24 hours of the observed behavior or
before the results of the drug test are released, whichever is earlier
Return-to-Duty Tests
An alcohol or drug test shall be conducted when a driver
who has violated the district’s alcohol or drug prohibition returns to
performing safety-sensitive duties.
Employees whose conduct involved drugs cannot return to
duty in a
safety-sensitive function until the return-to-duty test produces a verified
negative result.
Follow-up Tests
A driver who violates the district’s alcohol or drug
prohibition and is subsequently identified by a substance abuse professional as
needing assistance in resolving an alcohol or drug problem shall be subject to
unannounced follow-up testing as directed by the substance abuse professional
in accordance with law. Follow-up
alcohol testing shall be conducted just before, during or just after the time
when the driver is performing safety-sensitive functions.
Refusal to Submit to Tests
No driver shall refuse to submit to an
of the tests. An employee will be
considered to refuse to submit when he or she fails to provide adequate breath
or urine for testing when notified of the need to do so, or when he or she
engages in conduct that clearly obstructs the testing process. Such refusal will be treated as if the
district received a positive test.
Testing Procedures
The employer shall follow the federal guidelines and
standards of the Department of Health and Human Services regarding testing and
laboratory procedures. This shall
include a selection of sites with appropriately trained personnel for alcohol
and drug testing, selection of a laboratory certified by the Department of
Health and Human Services to conduct drug specimen analysis, and selection of a
Medical Review officer to verify laboratory drug test results. The drug and alcohol testing program of this
school district shall provide individual privacy in the collection of specimen samples
to the maximum extent possible. The
specimen collection procedures and chain of custody shall ensure that specimen
security, proper identification and integrity are not compromised.
Enforcement
Employees whose conduct involved alcohol or drug use
cannot return to duty in a safety-sensitive function until the return-to-duty
test produces the required result. A
driver who is tested and found to have an alcohol concentration of 0.02 or
greater but less than 0.04 shall not perform or continue to perform
safety-sensitive functions until the start of the driver’s next regularly
scheduled duty period but not less that 24 hours after the test was
administered. Further employment actions
up to and including termination may be instigated in accordance with the Drug
Free Workplace Act of 1988 (P.L. 101-226) and other state and federal laws.
Rehabilitation
An employer shall provide for the identification and
opportunity for treatment of covered employees who are determined to have used,
in violation of federal law or regulations, alcohol or drugs. This information shall include the names,
addresses and telephone numbers of substance abuse professionals and counseling
and treatment programs.
Employee Records
Employees’ alcohol and drug test results and records
shall be maintained in strict confidentiality and released only in accordance
with law. Upon written request, a driver
shall receive copies of any records pertaining to his or her use of alcohol or
drugs, including any records pertaining to his or her tests. Records shall be made available to a
subsequent employer or other identified persons only as expressly requested in
writing by the driver. Test records
shall be maintained with the separate medical files of each employee.
District Records and
Reports
The district shall maintain records of its alcohol and
drug prevention programs as required by federal law in 49 CFR 382.401.
Notification
Each driver shall receive educational materials that
explain the requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations Title 49, Part 382,
together with a copy of the district’s policy.
The program coordinator shall ensure all covered employees receive
written materials explaining the district’s drug and alcohol misuse prevention
program including:
1. The identity of the program coordinator, a contact
person knowledgeable about the materials, policy, administrative regulations
and the Omnibus Act;
2. The categories of employees covered;
3. Sufficient information about the safety-sensitive
functions performed by drivers to make clear what period of the work day the
driver is required to comply with Part 382;
4. Specific information concerning prohibited conduct;
5. The circumstances under which employees will be
tested;
6. Procedures used in the testing process;
7. The requirement that a driver submit to alcohol and
drug test administered in accordance with federal law;
8. An explanation of what constitutes a refusal to
submit to a drug and/or alcohol test;
9. The consequences for drivers found to have violated
the drug and alcohol prohibitions of Part 382, including the requirement that
the driver be removed immediately from the safety-sensitive functions and the
procedures for referral, evaluation and treatment;
10. The consequences for drivers found to have and
alcohol concentration of 0.02 or greater but less than 0.04 and
11. Information on the effects of drug use and alcohol
misuse on personal life, health and safety in the workplace.
Drivers
shall also receive information about legal requirements, district policies and
disciplinary consequences related to the use of alcohol and drugs.
Employees
shall sign a statement certifying that they have received the materials.
Before
any driver operates a commercial motor vehicle, the district shall provide him
or her with post-accident procedures that will make it possible to comply with
post-accident testing requirements.
Before drug and alcohol tests are performed, the district
shall inform drivers that the tests are given pursuant to the Code of Federal
Regulations, Title 49, Part 382. This notice shall be provided only after the
compliance date specified in law.
The district shall notify a driver of the results of a
pre-employment drug test if the driver requests such results within 60 calendar
days of being notified of the disposition of his or her employment application.
The district shall notify a driver of the results of
random reasonable suspicion and post-accident drug tests if the test results
are verified as positive. The district
shall also tell the driver which controlled substance(s) were verified as
positive.
Note: Federal
law requires that testing programs must begin on January 1, 1995, for those
school districts that had 50 or more drivers on March 17, 1994, and on January
1, 1996, in those districts that had fewer than 50 drivers on March 17, 1994. Districts which fall in the latter category
should specify an implementation date of January 1, 1996. Department of Transportation (DOT)
regulations expressly state that they do not authorize testing before the
effective date. School districts quite
possibly have the authority under the state law to require drug and alcohol
testing for school drivers. However, any
such testing must be conducted in a manner which is consistent with the
requirements of the U.S. Constitution and state law. Limitations on drug and alcohol testing by
states and their political subdivisions are not clearly defined in all
instances. Therefore, those school
districts which had fewer that 50 drivers on March 17, 1994, but nevertheless
wish to voluntarily implement a drug and alcohol testing program prior to
January 1, 1996, should consult legal authorities before doing so.
Note: Under 49 CFR 382.605, the choice of substance
abuse professional and the assignment of costs shall be made in accordance with
the employer/driver agreements and employer policies. For those districts which bargain
collectively with drivers, the assignment of costs of the substance abuse
professional may be a matter within the scope of negotiations.
Note: Pursuant to 49 CFR 382.601, materials
supplied to drivers may also include information about other policies and
disciplinary consequences based on the district’s authority independent of 49
CFR 382 and descried as such. Districts
should ensure that drivers receive copies of such policies (e.g. the Drug Free
Workplace policy).
Adopted: March 6, 1995