DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY FOR INDIVIDUALS
4.23.0
INVOLVED IN THE TRANSPORTATION OF MILLIS STUDENTS
All individuals
who are involved in the transportation of students for the Town of Millis, whether
CDL, 7-D, or otherwise designated (including transportation monitors) shall be
required to submit to alcohol and / or drug testing.
A. Basic
Guidelines:
1. All drivers and monitors shall be subject to Drug and / or Alcohol
Testing, under the same guidelines as CDL Bus and Motor Coach Drivers,
as
provided under the rules and regulation of the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Regulations, as prescribed by the U. S. Dept. of Transportation /
General Highway Administration.
2. These adopted rules and regulations apply to any driver or monitor
using any vehicle to transport school children for the Town of Millis.
3. Notification
Employees must be advised that they are subject to Drug / Alcohol Testing
and the starting date of the policy.
B. When
Employees Can Be Tested
1. Random Testing for Drugs or Alcohol:
a. All employees involved in the transportation of students will be
subject to Random
Drug Testing.
b. The location of testing shall provide privacy for the individuals
involved, at an
agreed upon place. For members of the Millis Bus
Drivers Association, the agreed upon place will be chosen and
voted on by the Millis Bus Drivers Association and the Millis
School Committee. For other individuals covered by this policy,
the location shall be designated by the administration.
c. Random Drug / Alcohol testing for members of the Millis Bus
Driver's
Association can only be done immediately before driving,
during driving, or immediately after driving. Random Drug /
Alcohol testing for all others shall be immediately before, during,
or after their shift.
2. Following an Accident:
As soon as possible, following an accident involving a school-related
vehicle during school related transportation, involving a fatality or moving
traffic
violation, the driver shall be tested for alcohol and / or controlled
substance. (Alcohol: within two (2) hours / controlled substance: within
thirty-two (32) hours). A driver who is subject to post-accident testing
shall remain available for such testing or may be deemed to have refused
to submit to testing.
3. For Reasonable Suspicion Testing:
a. Employer / supervisor / company official must be trained in
accordance with
#382.603: training of at least sixty (60) minutes
on alcohol misuse and an additional sixty (60) minutes of training
on controlled substance use.
b. Said training is used to determine whether reasonable suspicions
exist to require a driver to undergo testing. The training shall
include the physical, behavioral, speech, and performance
indicators of probable alcohol misuse and use of controlled
substances.
c. The documentation of the driver's conduct whether for alcohol
or substance abuse suspicion shall be prepared and signed by the
witness(es) within twenty-four (24) hours of the observed behavior
or before the results of the test(s) are released, which ever comes
first.
d. Alcohol suspicion: may be observed by supervisor or employer:
based on
observation of specific, contemporaneous, articulable
observations concerning the appearance, behavior, speech, or body
odors of the driver or transportation monitor.
Controlled substance suspicion: must be observed by at least two
(2) supervisors or company officials. If it is not feasible to have the
two witnesses, then one (1) supervisor needs to witness the
conduct. That one (1) witness must be trained as stated above.
e. Observations may include indication of the chronic and
withdrawal effects
of controlled substances.
C. Failure to
Submit to Testing:
No driver or
other employee involved with transportation who refuses to submit to such
tests will be allowed to drive any school transportation related vehicle, and
will be subject to the same discipline as if he / she had failed the drug or alcohol
test.
D. Failure to
pass Alcohol / Drug test
Any employee
who tests positive for Alcohol or a Controlled Substance will be
suspended immediately. A retesting (of the same sample) for substance abuse or
an immediate alcohol test, whichever is applicable,
will be conducted. The suspended driver will be
allowed to resign if he or she so chooses.
Prescribed
Drugs:
Any driver or
other employee involved with transportation who is alleged to have
violated the
alcohol or substance abuse prohibitions, shall have available as an
affirmative defense, that his / her use of a controlled substance (EXCEPT for
Methadone) was prescribed by a licensed medical practitioner who is
familiar with the
driver's or employee's medical history and assigned duties.
E. Any driver
or other transportation employee who tests positive (from the same
sample) for alcohol or
controlled substance abuse will be terminated.
School Committee First Reading: June 3,2003
School Committee Second Reading: June 17, 2003
School Committee Approved: June 17,2003