MJUSD
DIVISION 4000
ALL PERSONNEL

ALCOHOL AND CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES TESTING FOR NON-COMMERCIAL DRIVERS

Scope

This administrative regulation shall be applicable only to those employees of the Muroc Joint Unified School District who have been employed to drive a school transportation vehicle and who do not hold a commercial driver's license as a required component of their job.

Definitions

1. Alcohol is the intoxicating agent in beverage alcohol, ethyl alcohol or other low molecular weight alcohols including methyl and isopropyl alcohol.
2. Alcohol use is the consumption of any beverage, mixture or preparation, including any medication containing alcohol.
3. Breath alcohol technician (BAT) is an individual who instructs and assists individuals in the alcohol testing process and operates an evidential breath-testing device (EBT).
4. Confirmation test, for alcohol testing, is a second test that provides quantitative data of alcohol concentration following a screening test with a result of 0.02 grams or greater of alcohol per 210 liters of breath. For controlled substances testing, it is a second analytical procedure to identify the presence of a specific drug or metabolite which is independent of the screen test and which uses a different technique and chemical principal from that of the screen test in order to ensure reliability and accuracy.
5. Covered employee is an employee employed to drive a school transportation vehicle.
6. Employer is any person (including the United States, a State, the District of Columbia or a political subdivision of a State) who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle or assigns persons to operate such a vehicle, including agents, officers and representatives of the employer. The Muroc Joint Unified School District is the employer.
7. Evidential breath testing device (EBT) is a device approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the evidential testing of breath and placed on NHTSA's "Conforming Products List of Evidential Breath Measurement Devices" (CPL).
8. Medical review officer (MRO) is a licensed physician (medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy) responsible for receiving laboratory results generated by an employer's drug testing program who has knowledge of substance abuse disorders and has appropriate medical training to interpret and evaluate an individual's confirmed positive test result together with his or her medical history and any other relevant biomedical information.
9. On-duty time, as that phrase is defined by Federal regulations and this policy, means all of the time from the time a covered employee begins to work, is required to be in readiness to work, until the time he or she is relieved for work and all responsibility for performing work.
10. Performing (a safety-sensitive function) is any period in which the driver is actually performing, ready to perform, or immediately able to perform any safety-sensitive functions.
11. Refusal to submit (to an alcohol or controlled substance test) is when a driver (a) fails to provide adequate breath for testing without a valid medical explanation after he or she has received notice of the requirement of breath testing; (b) fails to provide adequate urine for controlled substances testing without a valid medical explanation after he or she has received notice of the requirement for urine testing; or (c) engages in conduct that clearly obstructs the testing process.
12. Safety-sensitive function, for the purposes of this policy, shall mean any of the functions defined in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. More specifically, safety-sensitive functions include all functions performed by a covered employee during on-duty time and include:
    (a) all time waiting to be dispatched, unless the driver has been relieved from duty by the employer;
    (b) all time spent at the driving controls of a student transportation vehicle;
    (c) all time loading or unloading a student transportation vehicle, supervising or assisting in the loading or unloading, attending a vehicle being loaded or unloaded, remaining in readiness to operate the vehicle;
    (d) all time spent performing the driver requirements associated with an accident;
    (e) all time repairing, obtaining assistance, or remaining in attendance upon a disabled vehicle.
    On-duty time also includes:
    (f) all time spent providing a breath sample or urine specimen, including travel time to and from the collection site, in order to comply with the testing requirements.
13. School transportation vehicle is a vehicle that is not a school bus, school pupil activity bus, or youth bus and is used by a school district or county office of education for the primary purpose of transporting children.
14. Screening test (aka initial test) in alcohol testing, in an analytical procedure to determine whether a driver may have a prohibited concentration of alcohol in his or her system. In controlled substance testing, it is an immunoassay screen to eliminate negative urine specimens from further consideration.
15. Substance abuse professional is a licensed physician (medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy) or a licensed or certified psychologist, social worker, employee assistance professional, or addiction counselor (certified by the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors Certification Commission) with knowledge of a clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of alcohol and controlled substances-related disorders.

Prohibited Conduct

1. No covered employee shall report for duty, or remain on duty requiring the performance of safety-sensitive functions, while having an alcohol concentration of 0.02 or greater.
2. No covered employee shall use alcohol during on-duty time, while performing safety-sensitive functions.
3. No covered employee shall perform safety-sensitive functions within four (4) hours after using alcohol.
4. No covered employee required to take a post-accident alcohol test shall use alcohol for eight (8) hours following the accident and until he or she undergoes a post-accident alcohol test.
5. No covered employee shall refuse to submit to any test required by law or this policy.
6. No covered employee shall report for duty, or remain on duty requiring the performance of safety-sensitive functions, when the covered employee uses any controlled substances, except when the use is pursuant to the instructions of a physician who has advised the driver that the substance does not adversely affect the driver's ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.
7. Drivers are required to report any therapeutic drug use to their department supervisor. Drivers may also be required to provide the District with a written statement from a physician stating that the medication does not adversely affect the driver's ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.

Transportation

If an applicant or covered employee produces a test result indicating an alcohol concentration equal to or greater than 0.04, that employee shall be transported to his or her residence by the employer.

Compensation

A covered employee who fails a required test shall not receive his or her normal compensation for hours during which the employee is prohibited by this policy from performing a safety-sensitive function. Failure is defined as a verified positive result by an MRO for controlled substances and/or an alcohol concentration of 0.02 or greater. The employee may not utilize sick time, vacation or compensatory time during the period the prohibition is in place.

Consequences of Prohibited Conduct

1. No covered employee shall return to duty or remain on duty to perform safety-sensitive functions if the covered employee has engaged in conduct prohibited by this policy.
2. Every covered employee who has engaged in prohibited conduct shall be advised of the resources available to that employee in evaluating and resolving problems associated with the misuse of alcohol and controlled substances.

Testing Procedures

All tests conducted pursuant to this policy shall comply with the requirements of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Pre-Employment Testing

1. Prior to the first time a covered employee performs safety-sensitive functions for the Employer, the employee shall undergo testing for controlled substances.
2. The Employer shall not allow any covered employee to perform safety-sensitive functions unless the covered employee has produced a controlled substances test result from a medical review officer indicating a verified negative test result.
3. The Employer reserves the right not to employ an applicant who has received a controlled substances test indicating a verified positive test result.
4. The applicant is responsible for the costs associated with pre-employment testing.

Post-Accident Testing

1. As soon as practicable following an accident involving a student transportation vehicle, the Employer shall test the following individuals for alcohol and controlled substances: (a) any covered employee who was performing safety-sensitive functions with respect to the vehicle, if the accident involved the loss of human life, and/or (b) any covered employee who receives a citation under state or local law for a moving violation arising from the accident.
   For the purposes of this policy, an accident is defined as an incident involving a student transportation vehicle in which there is either a fatality, an injury treated away from the scene, or if a vehicle is required to be towed from the scene.
2. If the alcohol test is not administered within two (2) hours following the accident, the Employer shall document the reasons the test was not promptly administered. If the alcohol test is not administered within eight (8) hours following the accident, the Employer shall cease attempts to administer the test and shall document the reasons the test was not administered.
3. If the controlled substances test is not administered within thirty-two (32) hours following the accident, the Employer shall cease attempts to administer the test and document the reasons the test was not administered.
4. Drivers who are subject to post-accident testing shall remain readily available for such testing or may be deemed by the Employer to have refused testing.

Random Testing

1. The Employer shall randomly select covered employees for alcohol and controlled substances testing during each calendar year. The minimum annual percentage rate for random alcohol testing shall be ten percent (10%) of the average number of covered employees. The minimum annual percentage rate for controlled substances testing shall be fifty percent (50%) of the average number of covered employees.
2. The selection of covered employees for random alcohol and controlled substances testing shall be made by a scientifically valid method. Under the selection process used, every covered employee shall have an equal chance of being testing each time selections are made.
3. The Employer shall ensure the random tests are unannounced and that the dates for administering the random tests are spread reasonably throughout the calendar year. Every covered employee who is notified of selection for random testing shall cease to perform safety-sensitive functions and shall immediately proceed to the test site.
4. A covered employee shall be subject to random testing at the following times: while the covered employee is performing safety-sensitive functions, just before the covered employee is performing safety-sensitive functions, or just after the covered employee has ceased performing such functions.
5. Substitute employees, if they are also covered employees, are subject to random testing. Substitute drivers will be required to sign a release authorizing the District to release testing information/results to other school districts for which the driver is employed. Substitute drivers will be required to sign the release as a condition of being placed on the District's substitute driver list.
6. In the event a covered employee who is selected for a random test is on vacation or off-duty, the Employer will keep the original selection confidential until the driver returns.

Reasonable Suspicion Testing

1. The Employer shall require a covered employee to submit to an alcohol or controlled substances test, as appropriate, when the Employer has reasonable suspicion to believe that the employee has engaged in prohibited conduct.
2. The Employer's determination that reasonable suspicion exists must be based on specific, contemporaneous, articulable observations concerning the appearance, behavior, speech or body odors of the driver.
3. Reasonable suspicion testing is permitted only if the required observations are made during, just preceding, or just after the period of the workday that the covered employee is performing a safety-sensitive function or required to be in compliance.
4. The observation and determination that a reasonable suspicion exists will be made by a supervisor trained in detecting the symptoms of alcohol misuse and use of controlled substances as per the regulations. The training shall consist of at least sixty (60) minutes of training on alcohol misuse and at least an additional sixty (60) minutes of training on controlled substances use. The observations shall be documented and signed by the official who made the observations within twenty-four (24) hours of the observed behavior or before the results of the controlled substances test are released, whichever is earlier.
5. If the alcohol test is not administered within two (2) hours following the determination that a test is required, the Employer shall document the reasons the alcohol test was not promptly administered. If the alcohol test is not administered within eight (8) hours, the Employer shall cease attempts to test and document the reasons the test was not administered.
6. Notwithstanding the absence of a reasonable suspicion alcohol test, no employee shall remain on duty requiring the performance of safety sensitive functions if the Employer has reasonable suspicion to believe that the employee is impaired by alcohol, until:
   a. an alcohol test is administered and the driver's alcohol concentration measures less than 0.02; or
   b. twenty-four (24) hours have elapsed following the determination that reasonable suspicion exists.

Discipline and Termination

Any employee who engaged in prohibited conduct shall be subject to termination.

Employee Information

1. The Employer shall distribute this policy to every covered employee, on an individual basis, prior to the start of alcohol and controlled substances testing. The Employer shall also distribute this policy to every covered employee hired after the adoption of the policy, and to every covered employee transferred into a position requiring possession of a commercial driver's license.
2. Employees will be required to sign a statement acknowledging receipt of the policy.
3. The person responsible for answering employee questions concerning this policy shall be the Director of Transportation.

Records Retention

The Employer shall retain all records for a minimum of five (5) years.

Legal Reference:

Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 40

First Reading: 6/21/06

Governing Board Adoption: 8/16/06