Students face random drug tests:Positive test will impact participation with team or club
|
Many questions accompany the new policy, which effects a much greater number of students than in years past, when only athletes were tested.
To answer these questions and to explain the testing procedure, Leslie Anderson, Tennessee state director for Maximus, the company contracted to oversee the testing, began talking to county students yesterday at Morrison Elementary.
She began by saying the drug tests will be performed on a monthly basis and will be random. To accomplish this, the names of all students participating in sports or extracurricular activities at each school will be submitted to Maximus. Every month, a certain percentage of students from each school will be selected by a computer using software specifically designed for that purpose.
The percentage of students tested will be the same for all schools (though the exact percentage has yet to be determined). Using this formula, the high school, because it has the largest population, will see the greatest number of students tested. Irving College Elementary, the county’s smallest school, will see the fewest.
And because the selection is random, there is the possibility that one student could be tested every month, while another student could avoid taking even one test.
“We have no control over the random software and we couldn’t pick someone to be tested even if we wanted to,” said Anderson.
The collection of urine specimens to be tested, she said, will be done in the presence of Maximus employees to ensure all specimens have not been tampered with.
The tests themselves will be conducted by STL Labs, which has the highest federal drug screen certification available.
In addition to testing for such substances as alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetimine, morphine, opiates and abused prescription drugs, the lab also determines if samples have been adulterated or whether a student has attempted to mask drug use by drinking large amounts of water or using any so-called cleansing kit.
With such precautionary tests performed, Anderson said, any positive results are guaranteed.
“The test is 99.9 percent accurate. It’s virtually error proof. This is an exact science. If it comes back positive it is positive,” she said.
Random drug testing is set to begin later next month. Per school board policy, all students refusing to consent to the tests will be removed from all teams or clubs. Upon taking a test, should a student test positive he or she will still be allowed to practice, but will not be able to compete or otherwise participate with the team or club.
These students would also have the opportunity to take a second test. If the results of that test are positive, they will be removed from the team or club for the remainder of the school year.