Butte School District

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

5228P

Drug and Alcohol Testing for School Bus and Commercial Vehicle Drivers Continued

School bus and commercial vehicle drivers will be subject to a drug and alcohol testing program which fulfills the requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49, Part 382.

Other persons who drive vehicles designed to transport sixteen (16) or more passengers, including the driver, are likewise subject to the drug and alcohol testing program.

Testing procedures and facilities used for the tests will conform with requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49, §§ 40, et seq.

Pre-Employment Tests

Tests will be conducted before the first time a driver performs any safety-sensitive function for the District.

Safety-sensitive functions include all on-duty functions performed from the time a driver begins work or is required to be ready to work, until he/she is relieved from work and all responsibility for 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 entity.

The tests will be required of an applicant, only after he/she has been offered the position.

Exceptions may be made for drivers who have had the alcohol test required by law within the previous six (6) months and participated in the drug testing program required by law within the previous thirty (30) days, provided the District has been able to make all verifications required by law.

Post-Accident Tests

Alcohol and controlled substance tests will be conducted as soon after an accident as practicable on any driver who:

Was performing safety-sensitive functions with respect to the vehicle, if the accident involved loss of human life; or
Receives a citation under state or local law, for a moving traffic violation arising from the accident.

Drivers will make themselves readily available for testing, absent the need for immediate medical attention.

No such driver will use alcohol for eight (8) hours after the accident, or until after he/she undergoes a post-accident alcohol test, whichever occurs first.

If an alcohol test is not administered within two (2) hours, or if a drug test is not administered within thirty-two (32) hours, the District will prepare and maintain records explaining why the test was not conducted. Tests will not be given if not administered within eight (8) hours after the accident for alcohol or within thirty-two (32) hours for drugs.

Tests conducted by authorized federal, state, or local officials will fulfill post- accident testing requirements, provided they conform to applicable legal requirements and are obtained by the District. Breath tests will validate only the alcohol test and cannot be used to fulfill controlled substance testing obligations.

Random Tests

Tests will be conducted on a random basis at unannounced times throughout the year. Tests for alcohol will be conducted just before, during, or just after performance of safety-sensitive functions. The number of random alcohol tests performed annually must equal twenty -five percent (25%) of the average number of driver positions. The number of random drug tests performed annually must equal fifty percent (50%) of the average number of driver positions. Drivers will be selected by a scientifically valid random process, and each driver will have an equal chance of being tested each time selections are made.

Reasonable Suspicion Tests

Tests will be conducted when a supervisor or District official trained in accordance with law has reasonable suspicion that the driver has violated the District’s alcohol or drug prohibitions. This reasonable suspicion must be based on specific, contemporaneous, articulable observations concerning the driver’s appearance, behavior, speech, or body odors. The observations may include indications of the chronic and withdrawal effects of controlled substances.

Alcohol tests are authorized for reasonable suspicion, only if the required observations are made during, just before, or just after the period of the work day when the driver must comply with alcohol prohibitions. The person who determines reasonable suspicion exists to conduct such a test may not conduct an alcohol test. If an alcohol test is not administered within two (2) hours of a determination of reasonable suspicion, the District will prepare and maintain a record explaining why this was not done. Attempts to conduct alcohol tests will terminate after eight (8) hours.

A supervisor or District official who makes observations leading to a controlled substance reasonable suspicion test will make a written record of his/her observations, within twenty-four (24) hours of the observed behavior, or before the results of the drug test are released, whichever is earlier.

Enforcement

Any driver refusing to submit to a post-accident, random, reasonable suspicion, or follow-up test will not perform or continue to perform safety-sensitive functions.

Drivers testing positive for alcohol or drugs will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

A driver who violates District prohibitions related to drugs and alcohol will receive from the District the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of substance abuse professionals and counseling and treatment programs available to evaluate and resolve drug and alcohol-related problems. The employee will be evaluated by a substance abuse professional to determine what help, if any, the driver needs in resolving the problem. Any substance abuse professional who determines a driver needs assistance will not refer the driver to a private practice, person, or organization in which he/she has a financial interest, except under circumstances allowed by law.

An employee identified as needing help in resolving a drug or alcohol problem will be evaluated by a substance abuse professional, to determine that he/she has properly followed the prescribed rehabilitation program, and will be subject to unannounced follow-up tests after returning to duty.

Return-to-Duty Tests

A drug or alcohol test will be conducted, when a driver who has violated the District’s drug or alcohol 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 drug test produces a verified negative result.

Employees whose conduct involved alcohol cannot return to duty in a safety-sensitive function, until the return-to-duty alcohol test produces a verified result meeting federal and District standards.

Follow-Up Tests

A driver who violates the District’s drug or alcohol prohibition and is subsequently identified by a substance abuse professional as needing assistance in resolving a drug or alcohol problem will be subject to unannounced follow-up testing as directed by the substance abuse professional in accordance with law. Follow-up alcohol testing will be conducted just before, during, or just after the time the driver is performing safety-sensitive functions.

Records

Employee drug and alcohol test results and records will be maintained under strict confidentiality and released only in accordance with law. On written request a driver will receive copies of any records pertaining to his/her use of drugs or alcohol, including any records pertaining to his/her drug or alcohol tests. Records will be made available to a subsequent employer or other identified persons only as expressly requested in writing by the driver.

Notifications

Each driver will receive educational materials which explain requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49, Part 382, together with a copy of the District’s policy and regulations for meeting those requirements. Representatives of employee organizations will be notified of the availability of this information. The information will identify:

The person designated by the District to answer driver questions about the materials;
The categories of drivers subject to the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49, Part 382;
Sufficient information about safety-sensitive functions performed by drivers, to make clear what period of the work day the driver is required to comply with Part 382;
Specific information concerning driver conduct prohibited by Part 382;
Circumstances under which a driver will be tested for drugs and/or alcohol under Part 382;
Procedures used to test for the presence of drugs and alcohol, protect the driver and the integrity of the testing processes, safeguard the validity of test results, and ensure test results are attributed to the correct driver;
The requirement that a driver submit to drug and alcohol tests administered in accordance with Part 382;
An explanation of what constitutes a refusal to submit to a drug or alcohol test and the attendant consequences;
Consequences for drivers found to have violated drug and alcohol prohibitions of Part 382, including the requirement that the driver immediately be removed from safety-sensitive functions and the procedures for referral, evaluation, and treatment;
Consequences for drivers found to have an alcohol concentration of 0.02 or greater but less than 0.04; and
Information concerning effects of drugs and alcohol on an individual’s health, work, and personal life; signs and symptoms of a drug or alcohol problem (the driver’s or a coworker’s); and available methods of intervening when a drug or alcohol problem is suspected, including confrontation, referral to an employee assistance program, and/or referral to management.

Drivers will also receive information about legal requirements, District policies, and disciplinary consequences related to use of alcohol and drugs.

Each driver will sign a statement certifying he/she has received a copy of the above materials.

Before any driver operates a commercial motor vehicle, the District will provide him/her with post-accident procedures which will make it possible to comply with post-accident testing requirements.

Before drug and alcohol tests are performed, the District will inform drivers the tests are given pursuant to the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49, Part 382. This notice will be provided only after the compliance date specified in law.

The District will notify a driver of the results of a pre-employment drug test if the driver requests such results within sixty (60) calendar days of being notified of the disposition of his/her employment application.

The District will notify a driver of the results of random, reasonable suspicion, and post-accident drug tests, if the test results are verified positive. The District will also tell the driver which controlled substance(s) were verified as positive.

Drivers will inform their supervisors, if at any time they are using a controlled substance which their physician has prescribed for therapeutic purposes. Such substance may be used, only if the physician has advised the driver that it will not adversely affect his/her ability to safely operate a commercial motor vehicle.

Procedure History:
Promulgated on: 10/18/04
Revised on: