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lisd drug testing

news story

06.24.10

liberty isd trustees approved a new drug testing policy during tuesday night’s board meeting. This new policy REQUIRES 7th through 12th grade liberty students to submit to drug testing in order to PARTICIPATE in any extracurricular activity or to apply for a parking permit at the high s school. district policy DEFINES Extracurricular activities to include public performances, contests, demonstrations, displays, and club activities. In addition, an activity is subject to this policy if any one of the following five criteria applies: The activity is competitive; The activity is held in conjunction with another activity that is considered extracurricular; The activity is held off-campus; an event at WHICH The general public is invited; or An admission is charged. that means this new drug POLICY impacts students participating in a long list of activities like sports, band, choir, drama, ffa, academic teams, CHEERLEADING, service groups, and many more. according to the new lisd POLIcY, the district has determined according to their records the use of illegal drugs and ALCOHOL is a GROWING problem. it also states information gathered from, what it calls, reliable sources within the community indicate a PREVALENT use of drugs and alcohol by students. addressing why the program is being ENACTED, the policy states it’s designed to protect the safety and health of all students who participate in extracurricular activities. so, how will this liberty isd drug testing program WORK? again, before any liberty student can PARTICIPATE in any EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY or obtain a parking permit, the student and their parent or guardian must sign a consent form for drug testing. then, at the beginning of the school year or within three weeks of signing up for an activity, all of these liberty students must submit to a URINALYSIS test designed to detect illegal drugs. this program will not test for alcohol. following the INITIAL testing, there will be random monthly drug testing where only a select percentage of students are checked. if a student tests POSITIVE and it is not related to a doctor-prescribed medication, the principal and activity’s sponsor or coach will be notified. in addition, the student will be placed into counseling and must submit to monthly drug testing for a year. if a student tests POSITIVE a second time, they will be suspended from activities for 30 days. a third positive test will result in a one-year suspension, and a fourth positive calls for suspension from extracurricular ACTIViTiES and school parking for the remainder of that student’s high school career. when collecting the samples, a contracted laboratory REPRESENTATIVE is requried to MAINTAIN a chain-of-custody and proper DOCUMENTATION. STUDENTS will be required to empty their pockets, roll up their pant legs, and remove their shoes prior to providing a urine sample to this representative. tuesday night, lisd trustees have approved a new drug policy that REQUIRES 7th through 12th grade students at liberty middle and liberty high school to submit to drug testing in order to PARTICIPATE in any extracurricular activity or apply for a parking permit at the high school. The first year cost of this program to lisd is $15,000 to $20,000. that comes as liberty school trustees are considering staff reductions in order to reduce district expenses. current discussions concerning the 2010-2011 budget show, without more cuts, the district will still have deficit spending of more than $400,000 in the next fiscal year. this year’s projected budget shortfall is said to be $1.25 million. back in 2008-2009 there was a $600,000 budget deficit. kshn will have more details on budget DISCUSSIONS in a future newscast.