IDFAA, Drug Screening of Student Athletes and Students in Extracurricular Activities

The Caldwell Parish School Board acknowledges that extracurricular activities are not an essential aspect of the educational process in Louisiana. Therefore, student participation is not an absolute right but a privilege afforded to eligible students on an equal opportunity basis and thus is voluntary and not required by School Board policy or state and/or federal law.

In an effort to protect the health and safety of athletes, minimize injuries, provide a safe environment for competition, and to prevent experimentation and the use of drugs by athletes, the Caldwell Parish School Board shall require all students who participate in athletic and extracurricular activities to be subject to drug screenings.

As a part of the drug screening policy, the Caldwell Parish School Board authorizes random drug testing by urinalysis, hair sample and/or any other method(s) approved by the Caldwell Parish School Board for students who participate in the schools' athletic programs and/or other extracurricular activities.

Prior to participating in any Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) sanctioned sport, all high school and junior high student athlete, activity members and their parents/guardians shall be required to sign the LHSAA Substance Abuse/Misuse Contract and the Caldwell Parish School Board Athlete/Activity Member Consent form. These arrangements state that all student athletes and activity members shall be subject to random drug testing. These tests shall be strictly enforced and participation shall be mandatory, since the parents/guardians have freely chosen to allow their son(s)/daughter(s) to participate in athletic programs and other extracurricular activities. No athlete shall be tested unless the parent(s)/guardian(s) and the athlete sign both the LHSAA and Caldwell Parish School Board forms giving permission to have the tests performed. No participant in extracurricular activities shall be tested unless the parent(s)/guardian(s) and the activity member sign the Caldwell Parish School Board form giving permission to have the tests performed. Refusal to allow these tests to be administered shall immediately serve notice that the student may not participate in any interscholastic athletics or activity membership for one calendar year.

All student athletes or activity members shall be tested at the beginning of the season and are subject to testing in a randomly selected pool of no less than 5% throughout the school year. Students who transfer in after the initial testing shall be tested before participating in the sport/activity. Testing shall occur at random intervals with no advance notice to be given to ANY student. To preserve the integrity and validity of the drug testing program, all confirming testing shall be performed by an independent certified laboratory contracted by the School Board. The testing laboratory shall collect the specimen and shall handle the chain of custody and reporting of the results. The samples collected by the lab shall be routinely tested for controlled substances or other performance altering substances as may be determined by the School Board or Superintendent. Allowance for prescription drugs shall be accounted for in reporting results from the laboratory. All costs associated with the administration of the student drug testing program shall be the responsibility of the Caldwell Parish School Board. However, any evaluation or counseling services which may be mandated as a result of positive tests shall not, under any circumstances, be the responsibility of the Caldwell Parish School Board.

The following procedures shall be followed upon receipt of a positive result from the drug testing described herein:

After confirmation of a positive drug screening, the principal or designee will notify the parents and the student to set up a conference. The principal or designee then notifies the coach/sponsor and athletic director. The student shall lose eligibility for the next two (2) interscholastic contests or two (2) weeks of scheduled games, whichever is longer. The student shall not be allowed to practice or attend events as a team member during this time. A conference will be held and an appropriate plan of action will be agreed upon and signed by all parties. This plan may include periodic drug screening and drug education counseling at the expense of the student/athlete.
Once the athlete or activity member has tested positive, he/she shall be subject to regular rather than random testing for the remainder of the school year.

After confirmation of a second positive drug screening, the student shall lose eligibility from the extracurricular activity for six (6) months.
In order for the student to re-enter an extracurricular activity, he/she must voluntarily submit evidence of a negative drug screening conducted by laboratory contracted by the School Board. He/she must also provide evidence that he/she has participated in a drug treatment program and has remained drug free for the dismissed time period.

After confirmation of a second positive drug screening, the student shall lose eligibility from the extracurricular activity for one calendar year.
In order for the student to re-enter an extracurricular activity, he/she must voluntarily submit evidence of a negative drug screening conducted by laboratory contracted by the School Board. He/she must also provide evidence that he/she has participated in a drug treatment program and has remained drug free for the dismissed time period.

A student or his/her parent(s) or guardian(s) may request a verification test from the specified testing agency, the cost of which shall be borne by the student and parent(s) or guardian(s), and shall be a test of the same specimen. Should the student request a verification test from another laboratory or testing agency, the cost of the verification test shall be the responsibility of the student and his/her parent(s) or guardians(s), and shall be administered by a laboratory or testing agency approved by the Caldwell Parish School Board. Further, the verification test must be of the same specimen previously tested. Moreover, the verification test shall be administered in accordance with the terms, conditions, and provisions of this drug testing policy. This verification test must be administered within 24 hours. Verification of test results will act as the only appeal to the conditions set forth in this policy.

The results of the drug test shall be kept strictly confidential with the principal and the coach/ sponsor. Parents of students whose tests yield a positive result shall meet immediately with the principal. The results of a positive drug screen are not disclosed to law enforcement officers.

The parent(s) or guardians) and the student shall release the Caldwell Parish School Board, its members (both individually and in their official capacity), as well as any employee, teacher, principal or other school administrator or personnel from any liability in connection with this policy, the administration of the testing procedures and/or test results, any warranties addressing the accuracy of said tests and any and all medical or laboratory procedures employed by the referring laboratory. It is expressly understood the Caldwell Parish School Board assumes no responsibility for the diagnosis or treatment of any disease or condition that may become known as a result of any laboratory test(s) conducted in the implementation of this drug testing program.

The principal of each school shall be required to have a properly signatured consent form on file for every student that