4003 Drug Policy Regarding Drivers

4003

Drug Policy Regarding Drivers

Policy Statement.  Drivers for the school district must be free from drug and alcohol abuse, and the use of illegal drugs or improper use of alcohol is prohibited.  The overall goal of drug and alcohol testing is to insure a drug-free and alcohol-free transportation environment, and to reduce accidents, injuries and fatalities.

Designated Contact.  The school district has designated Leesa Bartu (A&M Inc) the individual any driver may contact with questions about this policy or the school district’s drug testing program and procedures for drivers.  This individual further maintains and will provide drivers informational materials 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 a controlled substances problem (the driver’s or a co-worker’s); and available methods of intervening when an alcohol or controlled substances problem is suspected, including confrontation, referral to any employee assistance program and/or referral to management.  

Leesa Bartu may be contacted at 402-366-3651.

Covered Drivers.  Any person who operates a commercial motor vehicle on behalf of the school district is covered by this policy and the school district’s drug testing program and procedures for drivers.  All covered drivers must provide the school district a signed statement certifying that he or she has received a copy of this policy and related materials.

Covered Workday.  A driver is required to comply with this policy and the terms of the school district’s drug testing program and procedures for drivers at all times they are assigned, or may be assigned, to perform safety-sensitive functions.  This includes all time from the time a driver begins to work or is required to be in readiness to work until the time he/she is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work.  Safety-sensitive functions include: (1) all time at a school district facility or property, contractor facility or property, or on any public property, waiting to be dispatched, unless the driver has been relieved from duty by the school district; (2) all time inspecting equipment as required by state or federal law or regulation and any and all other time inspecting, servicing, or conditioning any commercial motor vehicle; (3) all time spent at the driving controls of a commercial motor vehicle in operation; (4) all time, other than driving time, in or upon any commercial motor vehicle; (5) all time loading or unloading a vehicle, supervising, or assisting in the loading or unloading, attending a vehicle being loaded or unloaded, remaining in readiness to operate the vehicle, or in giving or receiving receipts for shipments loaded or unloaded; and (6) all time repairing, obtaining assistance, or remaining in attendance upon a disabled vehicle.

Prohibited Conduct.  No driver shall: (1) report for duty or remain on duty requiring the performance of safety-sensitive functions while having an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater; (2) use alcohol while performing safety-sensitive functions; (3) perform safety-sensitive functions within four hours after using alcohol; or (4) refuse to submit to a pre-employment controlled substance, a post-accident alcohol or controlled substance test, a random alcohol or controlled substances test, a reasonable suspicion alcohol or controlled substance test, a return-to-duty alcohol or controlled substances test, or a follow-up alcohol or controlled substance test required under state or federal law or this policy.  No driver required to take a post-accident alcohol test shall use alcohol for eight hours following the accident, or until he/she undergoes a post-accident alcohol test, whichever occurs first.  

No driver shall: (1) report for duty or remain on duty requiring the performance of safety sensitive functions when the driver uses any drug or substance identified in 31 CFR 1308.11 Schedule 1; (2) report for duty or remain on duty requiring the performance of safety-sensitive functions when the driver uses any non-Schedule I drug or substance that is identified in the other Schedules in 21 CFR part 1308 except when the use is pursuant to the instructions of a licensed medical practitioner who is familiar with the driver's medical history and has advised the driver that the substance will not adversely affect the driver's ability to safely operate a commercial motor vehicle; or (3) report for duty, remain on duty or perform a safety-sensitive function, if the driver tests positive or has adulterated or substituted a test specimen for controlled substances.

Types of Testing.  Pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Department of Transportation (DOT), the district has implemented four types of testing: (1) pre-employment testing, (2) reasonable cause testing, (3) post-accident testing and (4) random testing.

Refusal to Submit to Testing.  A driver shall not refuse to submit to testing.  A driver will be considered to have refused to submit to testing if the driver fails to provide a sample or specimen necessary for testing upon a lawful request, consistent with the required testing protocols.  The refusal to submit to the testing used by the district will be grounds for refusal to hire driver applicants and to terminate the employment of existing drivers.  

Consequences for Violations.  Any driver who becomes unqualified on the basis of violation of the terms of this policy will be subject to disciplinary action which may include termination of the driver’s employment, and shall include the immediate removal from safety-sensitive functions in compliance with federal law.  No driver tested pursuant to this policy and the school district’s drug testing program and procedures who is found to have an alcohol concentration of 0.02 or greater but less than 0.04 shall perform or continue to perform safety-sensitive functions until the start of the driver’s next regularly scheduled duty period, but not less than 24 hours following administration of the test.

Return to Duty Process.  A driver who has violated this policy or the school district drug testing program and procedures cannot again perform any safety-sensitive functions until and unless the employee completes the return-to-duty process, including the substance-abuse professional’s (SAP) evaluation, referral, and recommended education or treatment.  The school district will provide employees the relevant contact information for available and acceptable SAPs as necessary, but the school district is not required under the law to provide a SAP evaluation or any subsequent recommended education or treatment for a driver.  Any driver completing the return-to-duty process must complete a return-to-duty test and test negatively. 

Disqualification.  Any applicant who tests positive for the presence of the following drugs is medically unqualified to drive and will not be considered for the position of driver: (1) marijuana, (2) cocaine, (3) opiates, (4) amphetamines, or (5) phencyclidine (PCP).  Any district driver who tests positive shall be medically unqualified and removed from service immediately.

Pre-employment Testing.  All applicants for employment must submit to drug and alcohol tests as a condition of being considered for employment.

Reasonable Cause Testing.  The district shall have reasonable cause to require a driver to submit to drug testing when a driver manifests physical or physiological symptoms or reactions commonly attributed to the use of controlled substances or alcohol. 

Post-Accident Testing.  A driver who has been involved in a reportable accident must submit to drug and alcohol testing as soon as possible.  A reportable accident includes any accident in which there is a fatality, a person is injured and must be treated away from the accident site, the driver receives a citation for a moving violation, or a vehicle is towed from the scene.  The driver must notify the district immediately regarding any reportable accident. 

Serious Injury to the Driver.  If a driver is so seriously injured that he or she cannot submit to testing at or immediately after the time of the accident, the driver must provide the necessary authorization for the district to obtain hospital reports or other documents that would indicate whether there were controlled substances or alcohol in the driver's system.

Random Testing.  All drivers will be subject to unannounced random testing for drugs and alcohol.  The district or its agents will periodically select drivers at random for testing.  A district official will notify a driver when his or her name has been selected and will instruct the driver to report immediately for testing.  By its very nature, random selection may result in one driver being tested more than once in a 12-month period, while another driver may not be selected at all during the same 12 months.

Frequency of Random Testing.  Under DOT regulations, the district must test at least 50 percent of its average number of driver positions for drugs and 25 percent of its average number of driver positions for alcohol each year.  The tests must be unannounced and spread evenly throughout the year.  DOT regulations also require that every driver selected at random must have his or her name placed back in the random pool for the next selection period.

Testing Procedure.  All urine and blood specimens collected under the policy will be submitted to an approved laboratory for testing.  Specimens that initially test positive for drugs will be subjected to a subsequent confirmation test before being reported by the laboratory as positive.  All such specimens collected and submitted will be maintained securely to safeguard the validity of the test results and maintain the integrity of the testing process while ensuring the results are attributed to the correct driver. 

Medical Review Officer.  All laboratory test results will be reported by the laboratory to a medical review officer (MRO) designated by the district.  Negative test results will be reported as such by the MRO to the district.  Before reporting a positive test result to the district, the MRO will attempt to contact the driver to discuss the test result.  If the MRO is unable to contact the driver directly, the MRO will contact a district official designated in advance by the district, who shall in turn contact the driver and direct the driver to contact the MRO.  Upon being so directed, the driver shall contact the MRO immediately or, if after the MRO's business hours and the MRO is unavailable, at the start of the MRO's next business day.  If required by DOT regulations, personal information collected and maintained pursuant to this policy shall be reported to the Clearinghouse by the MRO in the event of: (1) a verified positive, adulterated, or substituted drug test result; (2) an alcohol confirmation test with a concentration of 0.04 or higher; (3) a refusal to submit to any test required by this policy and the school district’s drug testing program and procedures; (4) an employer’s report of actual knowledge that a driver has used alcohol or controlled substances based on the employer's direct observation of the employee, information provided by the driver's previous employer(s), a traffic citation for driving a CMV while under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances or an employee's admission of alcohol or controlled substance use; (5) on duty alcohol use as prohibited above; (6) pre-duty alcohol use as prohibited above; (7) alcohol use following an accident as prohibited above; (8) controlled substance use as prohibited above; (9) a substance abuse professional report of the successful completion of the return-to-duty process; (10) a negative return-to-duty test; and (11) an employer’s report of completion of follow-up testing. 

Confidentiality.  Pursuant to DOT regulations, individual test results for applicants and drivers will be released to the district and will be kept confidential unless the tested individual consents to their release or release is required by law (such as the release of information to the Clearinghouse.)  Any person who has submitted to drug testing in compliance with this policy is entitled to receive the results of such testing upon timely written request.  

Retesting.  An individual who tested positive for the presence of drugs may request that the original sample be retested.  The request for a retest must be submitted in writing on a form provided by the district within 3 working days of the district’s notification to the individual that he or she has a positive test result.  The individual making the request must pay all costs associated with the retest and transfer of the sample to another laboratory before the retest will be performed.

Adopted on: _______________

Revised on: June 2023

Reviewed on: ______________