416 DRUG, ALCOHOL, AND CANNABIS TESTING

 

I.   PURPOSE

A. The school board recognizes the significant problems created by drug, alcohol, and cannabis use in society in general, and the public schools in particular. The school board further recognizes the important contribution that the public schools have in shaping the youth of today into the adults of tomorrow.

B. The school board believes that a work environment free of drug, alcohol, andcannabis use will be not only safer, healthier, and more productive but also more conducive to effective learning. To provide such an environment, the purpose of this policy is to provide authority so that the school board may require all employees and/or job applicants to submit to drug, alcohol, and cannabis testing in accordance with the provisions of this policy and as provided in federal law and Minnesota Statutes, sections 181.950-181.957.

II.  GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY

A. All school district employees and job applicants whose positions require a commercial driver’s license will be required to undergo drug and alcohol testing and cannabis testing in accordance with federal law and the applicable provisions of this policy. The school district also may request or require that drivers submit to drug and alcohol testing and cannabis testing in accordance with the provisions of this policy and as provided in Minnesota Statutes, sections 181.950-181.957.

B. The school district may request or require that any school district employee or job applicant, other than an employee or applicant whose position requires a commercial driver’s license, submit to drug and alcohol testing and cannabis testing in accordance with the provisions of this policy and as provided in Minnesota Statutes, sections 181.950-181.957.

C. The use, possession, sale, purchase, transfer, or dispensing of any drugs not medically prescribed, including medical cannabis, whether or not it has been prescribed for the employee, is prohibited on school district property (which includes school district vehicles), while operating school district vehicles or equipment, and at any school-sponsored program or event. Use of drugs that are
not medically prescribed, including medical cannabis, whether or not it has been prescribed for the employee, is also prohibited throughout the school or work day, including lunch or other breaks, whether or not the employee is on or off school district property. Employees under the influence of drugs that are not medically prescribed are prohibited from entering or remaining on school district property.

D. The use, possession, sale, purchase, transfer, or dispensing of alcohol or cannabis is prohibited on school district property (which includes school district vehicles), while operating school district vehicles or equipment, and at any school-sponsored program or event. Use of alcohol or cannabis is also prohibited throughout the school or work day, including lunch or other breaks, whether or
not the employee is on or off school district property. Employees under the influence of alcohol or cannabis are prohibited from entering or remaining on school district property.

E. Any employee who violates this section shall be subject to discipline that includes, but is not limited to, immediate suspension without pay and immediate discharge.

F. The school district may discipline, discharge, or take other adverse personnel action against an employee for cannabis flower, cannabis product, lower-potency hemp edible, or hemp-derived consumer product use, possession, impairment,
sale, or transfer while an employee is working, on school district premises, or operating a school district vehicle, machinery, or equipment as follows:

1. if, as the result of consuming cannabis flower, a cannabis product, a lower-potency hemp edible, or a hemp-derived consumer product, the employee does not possess that clearness of intellect and control of self that the employee otherwise would have;

2. if cannabis testing verifies the presence of cannabis flower, a cannabis product, a lower-potency hemp edible, or a hemp-derived consumer product following a confirmatory test;

3. as provided in the school district’s written work rules for cannabis flower, cannabis products, lower-potency hemp edibles, or hemp-derived consumer products and cannabis testing, provided that the rules are in writing and in a written policy that contains the minimum information required by Minnesota Statutes, section 181.952; or

4. as otherwise authorized or required under state or federal law or regulations, or if a failure to do so would cause the school district to lose a monetary or licensing-related benefit under federal law or regulations.

III.  FEDERALLY MANDATED DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING FOR SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS

A. General Statement of Policy
All persons subject to commercial driver’s license requirements shall be tested for alcohol, cannabis (including medical cannabis), cocaine, amphetamines, opiates (including heroin), and phencyclidine (PCP), pursuant to federal law. Drivers who test positive for alcohol or drugs shall be subject to disciplinary action, which may include termination of employment.

B. Definitions

1. “Actual Knowledge” means actual knowledge by the school district that a driver has used alcohol or controlled substances based on: (a) direct observation of the employee’s use (not observation of behavior sufficient to warrant reasonable suspicion testing); (b) information provided by a previous employer; (c) a traffic citation; or (d) an employee’s admission,
except when made in connection with a qualified employee self-admission program.

2. “Alcohol Screening Device” (ASD) means a breath or saliva device, other than an Evidential Breath Testing Device (EBT), that is approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and placed on its Conforming Products List for such devices.

3. “Breath Alcohol Technician” (BAT) means an individual who instructs and assists individuals in the alcohol testing process and who operates the EBT.

4. “Commercial Motor Vehicle” (CMV) includes a vehicle that is designed to
transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver.

5. “Designated Employer Representative” (DER) means an employee authorized by the school district to take immediate action to remove employees from safety-sensitive duties, or cause employees to be removed from these covered duties, and to make required decisions in the testing and evaluation process. The DER receives test results and other communications for the school district.

6. “Department of Transportation” (DOT) means United States Department of Transportation.

7. “Direct Observation” means observation of alcohol or controlled substances use and does not include observation of employee behavior or physical characteristics sufficient to warrant reasonable suspicion testing.

8. “Driver” is any person who operates a CMV, including full-time, regularly employed drivers, casual, intermittent, or occasional drivers, leased drivers, and independent owner-operator contractors.

9. “Evidential Breath Testing Device” (EBT) means a device approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the evidentiary testing of breath for alcohol concentration and placed on its Conforming Products List for such devices.

10. “Licensed Medical Practitioner” means a person who is licensed, certified, and/or registered, in accordance with applicable Federal, State, local, or foreign laws and regulations, to prescribe controlled substances and other drugs.

11. “Medical Review Officer” (MRO) means a licensed physician responsible for receiving and reviewing laboratory results generated by the school district’s drug testing program and for evaluating medical explanations for certain drug tests.

12. “Refusal to Submit” (to an alcohol or controlled substances test) means that a driver: (a) fails to appear for any test within a reasonable time, as determined by the school district, consistent with applicable DOT regulations, after being directed to do so; (b) fails to remain at the testing site until the testing process is complete; (c) fails to provide a urinespecimen or an adequate amount of saliva or breath for any DOT drug or alcohol test; (d) fails to permit the observation or monitoring of the driver’s provision of a specimen in the case of a directly observed or monitored collection in a drug test; (e) fails to provide a sufficient breath specimen or sufficient amount of urine when directed and a determination has been made that no adequate medical explanation for the failure exists; (f) fails or declines to take an additional test as directed by the school district or the collector; (g) fails to undergo a medical examination or evaluation, as directed by the MRO or the DER; (h) fails to cooperate with
any part of the testing process (e.g., refuses to empty pockets when so directed by the collector, behaves in a confrontational way that disrupts the collection process, fails to wash hands after being directed to do so by the collector, fails to sign the certification on the forms); (i) fails to follow the observer’s instructions, in an observed collection, to raise the driver’s
clothing above the waist, lower clothing and underpants, and to turn around to permit the observer to determine if the driver has any type of prosthetic or other device that could be used to interfere with the collection process; (j) possesses or wears a prosthetic or other device that could be used to interfere with the collection process; (k) admits to the collector or MRO that the driver adulterated or substituted the specimen; or (l) is reported by the MRO as having a verified adulterated or substituted test result. An applicant who fails to appear for a pre-employment test, who leaves the testing site before the pre-employment testing process commences, or who does not provide a urine specimen because he or she has left before it commences is not
deemed to have refused to submit to testing.

13. “Safety-Sensitive Functions” are on-duty functions from the time the driver begins work or is required to be in readiness to work until relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work, and include such functions as driving, loading and unloading vehicles, or supervising or assisting in the loading or unloading of vehicles, servicing, repairing, obtaining assistance to repair, or remaining in attendance during the repair of a disabled vehicle.

14. “Screening Test Technician” (STT) means anyone who instructs and assists individuals in the alcohol testing process and operates an ASD.

15. “Stand Down” means the practice of temporarily removing an employee from performing safety-sensitive functions based only upon a laboratory report to the MRO of a confirmed positive test for a drug or drug metabolite, an adulterated test, or a substituted test before the MRO completes the verification process.

16. “Substance Abuse Professional” (SAP) means a qualified person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.

C. Policy and Educational Materials

1. The school district shall provide a copy of this policy and procedures to each driver prior to the start of its alcohol and drug testing program and to each driver subsequently hired or transferred into a position requiring driving of a CMV.

2. The school district shall provide to each driver information required under Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, including information concerning the effects of alcohol and controlled substances use on an individual’s health, work, and personal life; signs and symptoms of an alcohol or controlled substance problem (the driver’s or a coworker’s); and available methods of intervening when an alcohol or controlled substance problem is suspected, including confrontation, referral to an employee assistance program, and/or referral to management.

3. The school district shall provide written notice to representatives of employee organizations that the information described above is available.

4. The school district shall require each driver to sign a statement certifying that the driver received a copy of the policy and materials. This statement should be in the form of Attachment A to this policy. The school district will maintain the original signed certificate and will provide a copy to the driver if the driver so requests.

D. Alcohol and Controlled Substances Testing Program Manager

1. The program manager will coordinate the implementation, direction, and administration of the alcohol and controlled substances testing policy for bus drivers. The program manager is the principal contact for the collection site, the testing laboratory, the MRO, the BAT, the SAP, and the person submitting to the test. Employee questions concerning this policy shall be directed to the program manager.

2. The school district shall designate a program manager and provide written notice of the designation to each driver along with this policy.

E. Specific Prohibitions for Drivers

1. Alcohol Concentration. No driver shall report for duty or remain on duty requiring the performance of safety-sensitive functions while having an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater. Drivers who test greater than 0.04 will be taken out of service and will be subject to evaluation by a professional and retesting at the driver’s expense.

2. Alcohol Possession. No driver shall be on duty or operate a CMV while the driver possesses alcohol.

3. On-Duty Use. No driver shall use alcohol while performing safety-sensitive functions.

4. Pre-Duty Use. No driver shall perform safety-sensitive functions within four (4) hours after using alcohol.

5. Use Following an Accident. No driver required to take a post-accident test shall use alcohol for eight (8) hours following the accident, or until the driver undergoes a post-accident alcohol test, whichever occurs first.

6. Refusal to Submit to a Required Test. No driver shall refuse to submit to an alcohol or controlled substances test required by post-accident, random, reasonable suspicion, return-to-duty, or follow-up testing requirements. A verified adulterated or substituted drug test shall be considered a refusal to test.

7. Use of Controlled Substances. No driver shall report for duty or remain on duty requiring the performance of safety-sensitive functions when the driver uses any controlled substance, except when the use is pursuant to instructions (which have been presented to the school district) from a licensed medical practitioner who is familiar with the driver’s medical history and has advised the driver that the substance does not adversely affect the driver’s ability to safely operate a CMV. Controlled substance includes medical cannabis, regardless of whether the driver is enrolled in the state registry program.

8. Positive, Adulterated, or Substituted Test for Controlled Substance. No driver shall report for duty, remain on duty, or perform a safety-sensitive function if the driver tests positive for controlled substances, including medical cannabis, or has adulterated or substituted a test specimen for controlled substances.

9. General Prohibition. Drivers are also subject to the general policies and procedures of the school district that prohibit possession, transfer, sale, exchange, reporting to work under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and consumption of drugs or alcohol while at work or while on school district premises or operating any school district vehicle, machinery, or equipment.

F. Other Alcohol-Related Conduct

No driver found to have an alcohol concentration of 0.02 or greater but less than 0.04 shall perform safety-sensitive functions for at least twenty-four (24) hours following administration of the test. The school district will not take any action under this policy other than removal from safety-sensitive functions based solely on test results showing an alcohol concentration of less than 0.04 but may take
action otherwise consistent with law and the policies of the school district.

G. Prescription Drugs/Cannabinoid Products
A driver shall inform the driver’s supervisor if at any time the driver is using a controlled substance pursuant to a physician’s prescription. The physician’s instructions shall be presented to the school district upon request. Use of a prescription drug shall be allowed if the physician has advised the driver that the prescribed drug will not adversely affect the driver’s ability to safely operate a
CMV. Use of medical cannabis is prohibited notwithstanding the driver’s enrollment in the patient registry. Use of nonintoxicating cannabinoids or edible cannabinoid products is not a legitimate medical explanation for a confirmed positive test result for cannabis. MROs will verify a drug test confirmed as positive, even if a driver claims to have only used nonintoxicating cannabinoids
or edible cannabinoid product.

H. Testing Requirements

1. Pre-Employment Testing

a. A driver applicant shall undergo testing for [alcohol and] controlled substances, including medical cannabis, before the first time the driver performs safety-sensitive functions for the school district.

b. Tests shall be conducted only after the applicant has received a conditional offer of employment.

c. To be hired, the applicant must test negative and must sign an agreement in the form of Attachment B to this policy, authorizing former employers to release to the school district all information on the applicant’s alcohol tests with results of blood alcohol concentration of 0.04 or higher, or verified positive results for controlled substances, including medical cannabis, or refusals to be tested (including verified adulterated or substituted drug test results), or any other violations of DOT agency drug and alcohol testing regulations, or, if the applicant violated the testing regulations, documentation of the applicant’s successful completion of DOT return-to-duty requirements (including follow-up tests), within the preceding two (2) years.

d. The applicant also must be asked whether he or she has tested positive, or refused to test, on any pre-employment drug or alcohol test administered by an employer to which the employee, during the last two (2) years, applied for, but did not obtain, safety-sensitive transportation work covered by DOT testing rules.