The Escambia County School Board passed on first reading an amendment to its random student drug testing program which will begin in the fall for middle and high school students that participate in extracurricular activities, athletics or park on campus.
The original policy approved in February stated after an initial positive test, students would be required to contact a district-approved laboratory for another test within 24 hours.
The amended policy has the original sample retested, if the school nurse doesn’t get a negative reading. It will be sent to a professional lab for additional testing and review by a medical review officer. The district pays for the retest if it’s negative; the parent pays if it is positive.
Parents must sign a consent form so that their children can be subject to random drug tests. No signed form, no sports, band, chess club, math team, or other extracurricular activities. They can’t get a parking space on campus.
The drug tests will be conducted by the school health nurse or technician under the plan. If a student refuses to participate in a random drug test, it will be considered a positive result.
A positive result will result in the student being removed from all extracurricular and athletic activities, including practices, for at least 30 days and would be suspended from driving on the school campus. The student will be referred to a District-approved drug assessment and rehabilitation program.
A student with a positive drug test result will be required to pass a second drug test before participation in future activities at the expense of their parents. They will be subject to additional random drug tests, and they would remain on probation for the rest of their school years in the Escambia County School District. The student will not be allowed to return to any leadership position — such as captain of a squad, club officer or class officer — for the remainder of the school year.
A second positive result will prohibit a student from participation in all athletics and extracurricular activities and from parking on campus for one full calendar year.
The school board will hold a public hearing on the amendment on July 21 at 5:30 p.m. That’s when they will vote on final approval.
In tough economic times, the Superintendent continues to find money for new programs and ways to increase the cost of education. No one is asking—is this program really necessary?
The next thing we will see is the School District hire someone to “manage” obesity.
