DRUG TESTING OF DISTRICT SAFETY & SECURITY OFFICERS

I. PURPOSE

A. The Board of Education’s Division of School Safety and Security is responsible for maintaining a safe environment for both students and staff of the District. In addition, the Division of School Safety and Security has a paramount interest in protecting District students and staff, as well as members of the public who attend, occupy or visit District buildings, grounds, and facilities.

B. To meet this responsibility, the employees of the Division of School Safety and Security must possess the physical ability and emotional stability to perform their assigned duties. The board requires that a Safety and Security employee be free from illegal drug use or dependence.

C. Because of the interest in public safety and the critically important nature of these duties and responsibilities, the Board of Education has decided that the duties and functions performed by employees assigned to the Division of School Safety and Security are of a “safety-sensitive” nature. Therefore, the Board has adopted this program to ensure the fitness for duty of all safety employees as a condition of employment.

II. DEFINITIONS

A. “Board” or “Board of Education” — Board of Education of the City of St. Louis

B. “Safety Employee” — Any employee assigned to the Division of Safety and Security.

C. “Applicant” — An individual who is seeking employment as an employee in the Division of School Safety and Security

D. Director — The Director, Division of Safety & Security, or his/her designee.

III. POLICY

It is hereby made a condition of employment that all safety employees be free from illegal drug use or dependence. Random, pre-employment, and promotional drug tests of safety employees shall be conducted as prescribed in this Regulation. Safety employees continue to be subject to the policies and regulations of the board governing all employees and authorizing drug tests based on reasonable suspicion.

IV. GENERAL RULES

A. Any statutorily defined illegal possession or use of drugs by any safety employee, whether at or outside employment, will not be tolerated.

B. Any safety employee who fails or refuses to submit to a drug test as set forth in this Regulation shall be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. Any safety employee who submits to a drug test as set forth in this Regulation and who tests positive for an illegal drug, shall be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

V. PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG TESTING

The pre-employment process for all applicants for the position of safety employee shall include a urinalysis. Drug testing procedures will be coordinated between the Division of Human Resources and the contract medical facility.

A. Refusal of an applicant to take the urinalysis as part of the pre-employment process or the finding by urinalysis of a presence of any illegal drug(s) or narcotic(s), shall be the basis for immediate removal from the employment process.

1. An applicant who fails the urinalysis because of the presence of illegal drug(s) or narcotic(s) may not reapply for a position with the District for a minimum of one (1) year.

2. An applicant who refuses to take the urinalysis shall not be eligible for further consideration.

B. The results of urinalyses on applicants for District positions shall be kept confidential.

VI. PROMOTIONS

An employee seeking promotion to Safety Officer II or Safety Officer III, shall be required to submit to a urinalysis to ensure the absence of any illegal drug(s) or narcotic(s).

VII. RANDOM DRUG TESTING

Random drug testing shall be conducted in accordance with the following:

A. Responsibility

The Director is responsible for the overall coordination of the random drug testing process.

B. Procedure for Selection and Testing

1. Database

Employees to be included in the random selection process shall be limited to all safety employees. The database will be maintained by the contract medical facility and will be updated based on information provided by the Director.

2. Procedure

a. All safety employees will be randomly selected for drug testing once per calendar year, and may be randomly selected to take an additional drug test in any calendar year.

b. If, in the opinion of the Director, an employee is incapacitated due to illness or injury, the employee shall be excused from testing and shall remain eligible for random selection at a later date.

c. The board shall be responsible for the cost for the testing. Testing by the contract medical facility will include the random selection process, collection of the sample, analysis of the sample, and reporting of the results.

3. Notification Process and Transportation to Site

a. At the beginning of each week, the contract medical facility will randomly select those safety employees to be tested during the upcoming week and provide this information to the Director.

b. The Director is responsible for notifying each safety employee selected and providing the employee with a consent form, which the employee must provide to test site personnel.

c. The Director will arrange for the safety employee providing the specimen to be immediately escorted to the test site by another safety officer. No advance notice concerning a drug test will be given to the selected safety employee. The escort will remain at the test site until the test is completed and provide return transportation.

4. Records

The Human Resources Division will maintain confidential medical records of employees relative to the selection and testing of each safety employee.

VIII. DRUG TESTING PROCEDURES

A. Safety Employee Responsibilities

Safety employees ordered to take a drug test will accompany the escorting safety employee, report immediately to the test site and produce identification with photo, sufficient to positively identify the safety employee to the medical staff.

B. Process

1. The employee designated to give a specimen must be positively identified prior to any specimen being obtained.

2. The drug test shall occur in a medical setting. The procedures shall not be designed to demean, embarrass, or cause physical discomfort to the safety employee being tested.

3. Once at the collection site, the safety employee designated to give a specimen shall not leave the site until the specimen has been collected.

4. A supervisor shall be immediately called to the collection site by a safety employee who refuses or is unable to provide a specimen when requested. The responsibility for this notification rests solely with the safety employee designated to give the specimen. The safety employee who fails or refuses to submit to a drug test shall be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

5. A portion of the safety employee’s specimen shall be retained and preserved for six months after the receipt of the test results for use by the employee to challenge a positive test result by means of an independent testing of the specimen at the employee’s expense.

C. Notification

The Director will be the point of contact for the contract medical facility conducting the drug test. The medical facility will send the test result to the Director as soon as the test is completed. When the test result is negative, a memorandum stating that no illegal drugs were found will be forwarded to the safety employee. At the request of the employee, a copy of the memorandum will be placed in the safety employee’s personnel file in the Division of Human Resources.

D. Administrative/Disciplinary Action

If an employee’s specimen indicates a positive result, the Director will initiate appropriate disciplinary action, up to an including dismissal.

IX. CLOSED RECORD

Information discovered about specific safety employees as a result of the Regulation, shall be closed under the conditions set forth in Section 610.021 (3) RSMo., as amended.

Regulation Adopted: January 12, 1999