| Sheridan Community School Corporation |
| Bylaws & Policies |
5530.01 - DRUG EDUCATION AND TESTING PROGRAM
Alcohol and drug abuse are serious problems in today's society, and schools are not immune to such problems. It is statistically predictable, and it is within our experience, that some student athletes have used alcohol and have experimented with "street drugs" such as Marijuana and Cocaine, or may do so during their middle or high school years. Also, some athletes may be attracted to the use of so-called "performance enhancing" drugs, such as various steroids, in misguided efforts to increase their strength or endurance. The Board recognizes that serious attention is being given to alcohol and drug abuse problems in private business and industry, in government, in schools and in the colleges throughout the country.
Wide publicity has recently been given to the NCAA mandatory drug testing programs for post-season tournaments, both by spot checks and by testing of all team members. The NCAA encourages its members to undertake their own programs to test for the possible use of "street drugs" and "performance enhancing drugs". As some persons have already experienced, a positive test results in ineligibility.
This education and testing program is intended as a helpful part of the overall physical and mental educational and conditioning programs of Sheridan Community School Corporation. Its purpose is not disciplinary in nature but rather is intended as a medical diagnostic aid in disclosing possible drug related problems and as an extension of our educational drug programs. Continuing drug usage obviously is inconsistent with participation in interscholastic athletics, and the program includes appropriate procedures for dealing with any such problems.
The program will be applied to all interscholastic sports teams, male and female, and is intended for all student athletes who try out for or become members of Sheridan Community School Corporation Jr. Sr. High School interscholastic team. Also intended are members of all cheerleading teams, who will be referred to herein as "student athletes".
Student athletes will receive instruction in the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse as a part of the program to educate and encourage students to respect their bodies, to develop and pursue athletic ability and to continue throughout their lives to exercise, participate in sports, and maintain healthy drug free lives. The elimination of drug and alcohol abuse shall be part of this program.
Student athletes are respected and admired by a large segment of the student body of our school and, in order to participate in athletics, are expected to hold themselves as good examples of conduct, sportsmanship and training, which includes avoiding drug and alcohol usage. It has been widely recognized that drug and alcohol usage can cause serious physical, mental, and emotional harm. A student athlete who uses drugs can be a danger to himself/herself, his/her teammates, or opponents. The Sheridan Community School Corporation offers interscholastic athletic participation only to drug free athletes, and student athletes are entitled to drug free participation by their teammates.
The purposes of the program are to prevent drug and alcohol usage, to educate student athletes as to the serious physical, mental, and emotional harm caused by drug and alcohol abuse, to alert student athletes with possible drug problems to the potential harms, to prevent injury, illness, and harm as a result of drug and alcohol abuse, and to maintain at Sheridan Community School Corporation Jr. Sr. High School an athletic environment free of alcohol and drug abuse. The program is not intended to be disciplinary or punitive in nature.
This program will not affect the policies, practices, or rights of the School Corporation in dealing with drug or alcohol possession or use where reasonable suspicion is obtained by means other than the random sampling provided for herein.
| A. | The head coach of each athletic team will require the attendance of all prospective team members at one or more drug education sessions. Each student athlete shall receive a copy of this program. This program shall be explained to all such student athletes, and an educational presentation shall be made in order to acquaint the student athletes with the harmful consequences of drug and alcohol abuse. | |
| B. | Each student athlete shall be provided with a consent form which shall be dated and signed by the student athlete and by a custodial parent or guardian before such student athlete shall be eligible to practice or participate in any interscholastic team sport, except for the months of August and September when consents may be received by Sheridan Community School Corporation after the beginning of practice. The consent shall be to provide at any time requested, a urine sample to be tested for drugs and alcohol. | |
| C. | The selection of student athletes to be tested will be done randomly by the athletic director or head coach of each team, and selections may be made from time to time throughout the training and participation season for the sport. Each student athlete will be assigned a number, and one cross reference list of names and numbers will be maintained by the athletic director. When a selection for testing is done, the numbers of all team members will be placed in a box and from that will be drawn the number/s of the student athlete/s then to be tested. On being selected for testing, each student athlete will be required to provide a sample of his/her urine in a verifiable manner, but the collection of the sample shall not be physically observed. The student athlete's number and the date shall be written on the sample bottle and the student athlete and athletic director shall initial each date and initial the cross reference list, establishing that the sample container had the proper number written on it. The samples will then be turned over to the testing laboratory, and each sample may be tested for alcohol, "street drugs" (which may include all drugs listed as controlled substances under the laws of the State of Indiana), and the sample may be tested for "performance enhancing drugs" (such as steroids). Testing shall be done by a competent laboratory through urinalysis. | |
| D. | When a student athlete is selected for testing, only the head coach, the athletic director, and the staff member obtaining the urine sample (who shall be the same sex as the student) shall be told that such student athlete has given a urine sample or is being tested. The laboratory will report to the athletic director by the numbers on each sample container the results of each test. The results of any test shall not be made known to anyone else other than the student athlete, the student athlete's custodial parent or parents or guardian, the athletic director, and the student athlete's head coach. If the student athlete is taking any over-the-counter or prescription medications which may contribute to a "positive" test result, it would be in the student athlete's best interest for the student and the parent/guardian to inform the athletic director of this fact at the time of the taking of the urine sample. | |
| E. | If any test as to a particular student athlete is positive, that is if it shows that drug-residue substances are present in the student athlete's system (after using at least two (2) different types of analysis), the athletic director will so advise the student athlete and the student athlete's custodial parent or parents or guardian and will explain the type of substance which was found and the health hazards involved. If the student athlete or the student athlete's custodial parent or parents or guardian desire, they may have any remaining portion of the urine sample analyzed or any new sample taken and analyzed under conditions in which the sample is verified and transmitted to the laboratory by the athletic director and where the results are returned to the athletic director. They may also submit any prescription or other explanation or information which will be considered in determining whether a positive test has been satisfactorily explained. If it is not satisfactorily explained, the athletic director will consult with the student athlete and the student athlete's custodial parent or parents or guardian concerning the nature and extent of the problem and may suggest counseling or other possible assistance. Sheridan Community School Corporation shall pay for the testing done at its request, but will not pay for any tests submitted by the student athlete, parents, or guardian and will not be required to pay for any counseling or subsequent treatment. | |
| F. | If any test as to a particular student athlete is determined to be "positive", and not satisfactorily explained, a "follow-up" test will be made as to that student after such an interval of time that the substance previously found would normally have been eliminated from the body if no intervening drug use has occurred. If a second "positive" result is obtained from the "follow-up" test, or any later test of that student athlete, the same procedure shall be followed. In addition, Sheridan Community School Corporation reserves the right to continue testing at any time during the practice or participation season of any sport in which a student athlete participates throughout the remaining school year as to any student athlete who tested "positive" and did not make satisfactory explanation. Sheridan Community School Corporation also reserves the right to test any student athlete who at any time exhibits cause for reasonable suspicion of drug or alcohol usage. | |
| G. | Apart from this drug testing program, the coaching staff of each interscholastic sport has its own training rules and requirements, which include prohibitions concerning use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. Coaches have the necessary authority to enforce these rules. It is not the purpose of this policy to automatically bar from all further participation in sports student athletes who exhibit a "positive" test for urinalysis. It is the purpose of this program to prevent participation in interscholastic sports while a student athlete has drug-residues in his/her body, and it is the purpose of this program to educate, help, and direct student athletes away from drug and alcohol abuse and toward a healthy and drug free participation in sports. | |
| H. | The fact of testing and the results of testing of any student athlete shall not be made known to any school official other than as above stated, and no student athlete shall be expelled, suspended, or disciplined as a result of any "positive" test conducted by the athletic department of his/her school under this program other than as stated herein. | |
| I. | Any student who is a participant in the Sheridan Community School Corporation interscholastic athletic program is considered a Sheridan Community School Corporation Jr. Sr. High School athlete. Being an athlete at Sheridan Community School Corporation Jr. Sr. High School is considered a privilege and not a right. Training rules are not rules to be broken and any athlete who violates these rules will be subject to the following consequences for each "positive" drug test that is not satisfactorily explained. |
| 1. | First Occurrence | ||
| Alcohol - 20% of athletic contests of the sport in which the athlete is involved, which may carry over under the provisions of subparagraph K. | |||
| Illegal Drugs - 30% of athletic contests of the sport in which the athlete is involved, which may carry over under the provisions of subparagraph K. | |||
| 2. | Second Occurrence | ||
| 50% of the athletic contests of the sport in which the athlete is involved, which may carry over under the provisions of subparagraph K. | |||
| 3. | Third Occurrence | ||
| One (1) calendar year suspension from athletic participation from the date of suspension. | |||
| 4. | Fourth Occurrence | ||
| Suspension from athletic participation for the high school career. | |||
| 5. | A student athlete may reduce his/her first or second offense suspension 1% per hour of verified professional counseling with the counselor to be approved by the athletic director in advance. | ||
| 6. | The football jamboree will constitute one (1) athletic contest. | ||
| 7. | If a suspension period included a fraction of an athletic contest and that fraction is .5 or higher, the athlete will not be allowed to participate in any part of that contest. If the fraction is lower than .5, then the athlete will be allowed to participate in the entire contest. | ||
| 8. | All suspensions will be based on varsity contests. For example: If the athlete's suspension consists of five (5) contests, then five (5) contests will be varsity contest, even if the athlete only participates at the junior varsity or freshman level. She/he will not be allowed to participate until five (5) varsity contests have been played. | ||
| 9. | Practice during the period of suspension will be up to the individual coach involved. | ||
| 10. | Cause of suspension will be established by a "positive" drug test that is not satisfactorily explained. | ||
| 11. | An athlete's suspension will carry over to the next sport that she/he participates in only if the next sport immediately follows the one from which she/he was suspended. For example: if an athlete has a 30% suspension from football and only has one (1) game left, then 20% of his/her next season would be suspended, if she/he participated in basketball. However, if s/he doesn't participate until spring track, the suspension would not carry over into the track season. Nevertheless, the student athlete could be tested for drug usage before starting the track season. |
I.C. 20-26-3
I.C. 20-26-5-4
I.C. 20-30-15-6
Linke v. Northwestern School Corporation (763 N.E. 2nd 972)