Vestavia Hills City Schools

The Vestavia Hills Board of Education in an effort to protect the health and safety of its extra-curricular activities students from illegal and/or performance-enhancing drug use and abuse, thereby setting an example for all other students of the Vestavia Hills City Schools, proposes to adopt the following Procedure for drug testing Activity Students.

Although the Board of Education, administration, and staff desire that every student in the Vestavia Hills City Schools refrains from using or possessing illegal drugs, district officials realize that their power to restrict the possession or use of illegal and performance enhancing drugs is limited. Therefore, this Procedure governs only performance-enhancing and illegal drug use by students participating in all extra-curricular competitive activities. The sanctions imposed for violations of this Procedure will be limitations solely upon limiting the opportunity of any student determined to be in violation of this Procedure to a student's privilege to participate in all extra-curricular competitive activities. No suspensions from school or academic sanctions will be imposed for violations of this Procedure. This Procedure supplements and complements all other policies, rules, and regulations of the Vestavia Hills City Schools regarding possession or use of illegal drugs.

Participation in school-sponsored interscholastic extra-curricular activities at the Vestavia Hills City Schools is a privilege. Students who participate in these activities are respected by the student body and are representing the school district and the community. Accordingly, students in extra-curricular competitive activities carry a responsibility to themselves, their fellow students, their parents and their school to set the highest possible examples of conduct, sportsmanship, and training, which includes avoiding the use or possession of illegal drugs.

The purposes of this Procedure are five-fold:

1. To educate students of the serious physical, mental, and emotional harm caused by illegal drug use
2. To alert students with possible substance abuse problems to the potential harms that drug use poses for their physical, mental, and emotional well being and offer them the privilege of competition as an incentive to stop using such substances
3. Ensure that students adhere to a training program that bars the intake of illegal and performance-enhancing drugs
4. To prevent injury, illness, and harm for students that may arise as a result from illegal and performance enhancing drug use
5. To offer students practices, competition, and school activities free of the effects of illegal and performance-enhancing drug use

Illegal and performance-enhancing drug use of any kind is incompatible with the physical, mental, and emotional demands placed upon participants in extra-curricular activities and upon the positive image these students project to other students and to the community on behalf of the Vestavia Hills City Schools. For the safety, health and well being of students in extra-curricular activities the Vestavia Hills City Schools has adopted this Procedure for use by all participants in interscholastic extra-curricular activities in grades 7 - 12. Activity Students must inform their coach or sponsor when they are legitimately taking medication that may affect their ability to practice or compete, in order to avoid creating safety problems and violating this Nicotine, Tobacco, Drug and Alcohol Procedure.

Definition:

"Activity Student" means a member of any middle school (7-8) or high school (9-12) Vestavia Hills City Schools sponsored extra-curricular organization, which participates in interscholastic competition. This includes any student that represents Vestavia Hills City Schools in any extra-curricular activity in interscholastic competition, such as, but not limited to, Academic Teams (Debate, Economics /Finance, FBLA, Foreign Languages, Math, Muse, Robotics/TSA, Scholars Bowl, Theatre, WTP), Band, Choir, Cheerleaders, Color Guard, Dance/Rebelettes/Rockettes, Majorettes), and Athletics (Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, CC/Track/Field, Fishing, Football, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Swim, Tennis, Volleyball, Wrestling).

To better ensure these expectations, the Board reserves the right to require all Activity Students to submit to drug tests to maintain safety and security. The School Board has developed this testing program for Activity Students to follow, as appropriate, the process of 49 CFR Part 40 and the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991. It is also established in accordance with the decision of the United States Supreme Court on June 27, 2002, in the case of Board of Education of Independent School District No 91 of Pottawatomie Count et al v. Earls et al. The Board encourages, and may require its employees to be trained in nicotine, tobacco, alcohol, and drug usage recognition skills.

Pursuant to Board Procedure and regulations, Activity Students may be tested prior to beginning a seasonal activity, during the season of the activity, or on a random basis without advance notice. When Board officials (Employees) have reasonable suspicion to believe an Activity Student has violated its Nicotine, Tobacco, Alcohol and Drug Procedure, they may require the student to undergo drug testing.

An Activity Student who has tested positive for nicotine, tobacco, alcohol, and/or other drugs and who had the positive test result confirmed by the Board's Medical Review Officer will be subject to discipline, including suspension from student extra-curricular competitive activities.  Refusal to cooperate with the Board in any test investigation will result in discipline, up to and including immediate suspension from participating in student activities.

No Activity Student testing positive, refusing to test, refusing to cooperate with testing or being in violation of this Procedure will be penalized academically.  Information, including testing positive, will not be released to criminal or juvenile authorities unless under compulsion by valid state or federal laws.  This Procedure is developed to help Activity Students be nicotine/tobacco/drug/alcohol free.  The Board will work with the student and/or his or her parents or guardians when there is any violation of this Procedure and these procedures.

All information, interviews, reports, statements, memoranda, and test results, either written or otherwise, received by the Board through its drug, alcohol, nicotine, and tobacco testing program are confidential communications and may not be used or received in evidence, obtained in discovery, or disclosed in any public or private proceedings except in the following:

(a) As directed by the specific, written consent of the parent/guardian and/or Activity Student authorizing release of the information to an identified person

(b) To a covered Activity Student decision-maker in a lawsuit, grievance, or other proceeding initiated by or on behalf of the Activity Student

Any questions should be directed to the persons assigned as the Board's Drug Program Coordinator(s).

Notice of Clarification:  This Procedure in no way circumvents nor may be used in place of Board Procedure and School Rules pertaining to the use, possession, distribution, and manufacturing of nicotine, tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs at/or away from school, School Board property, or at school sponsored events.

If an Activity Student is in violation of such policies and rules, disciplinary consequences will be through normal school channels associated with said policies and rules.  The consequences under the "Drug Screening Procedure" become secondary.

(Please see Regulations and Forms-JCDAD-R)
 
 
 
Revised 3/12/2015
Date Adopted:
 9/4/2002