The School Board of Palm Beach County, Florida

NOTICE OF RULE DEVELOPMENT
AND PUBLIC HEARING

RULE TITLE: Drug and Alcohol Testing of Student Athletes.

RULE NUMBER: Policy 5.615.

SUBJECT AREA TO BE ADDRESSED: Statement of purpose and procedures for testing student athletes for use of illicit drugs and alcohol.

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The Policy also provides the following: a safety rationale for the drug and alcohol testing program with the goal of reducing drug use by student athletes; the program is non-punitive, resulting only in suspension from the interscholastic athletic activity; to protect the privacy of individual students, the third party testing coordinator assigns students random numbers for the selection and testing and reporting to the school; use of a Medical Review Officer and no requirement that the student reports medications taken to anyone other than the Medical Review Officer; Student and Parental Consent Form; minimal intrusion during the collection process, affording the maximum privacy possible to the student (with no observed collections); progressive consequences only if there is more than one positive drug test result for a student; test results are not to be used to provide a source of information to law enforcement agencies or for the prosecution of a student; a confirmatory testing process; establishment of specific and strict confidentiality procedures such as keep drug test results separate from students’ educational records and information on results restricted to a “need to know” basis; services shall be provided to any applicable student through the District’s Alternative to Suspension Program for Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs, and/or the student/parents may elect for the student to receive the services of an approved licensed substance abuse treatment provider; and destruction of drug testing records upon graduation or departure of the student from the school district.

SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: Fla. Stat. §§ 1001.32(2); 1001.41(2); 1001.42(25); and 1001.43(1).

LAWS IMPLEMENTED: Fla. Stat. §§ 1001.43(1)(a); Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 USC 1232 (g); Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Recordings, 42 CFR Part 2, §2.1(f).

CONTACT PERSON: Dr. Alison Adler, 3300 Forest Hill Blvd., West Palm Beach FL 33406.

THE PRELIMINARY TEXT of the proposed rule development may be obtained without cost from the School District's web site at www.SchoolBoardPolicies.com/revisions.htm .

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE: Development of the proposed rule is anticipated to be considered at the School Board's Special Meeting on Policies on June 3, 2009, anticipated to begin at 3:00 p.m. (an approximate time, as the actual start time may vary earlier or later) in the Board Chambers at 3300 Forest Hill Blvd., West Palm Beach, Fla. AGENDA: An agenda will be available by May 27, 2009 on the District's Web site. Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this hearing is asked to advise the agency at least 48 hours in advance by contacting the Board clerk at 434-8139. A person may submit written comments (12 copies) about the proposed action to the clerk no later than the time of the public hearing. This hearing is open to the public.

Publish: May 20, 2009