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506.9

Drug and Alcohol Testing Program

Employees who operate school vehicles classified as “commercial motor vehicles” by the U.S. Department of Transportation, and are required to possess a commercial driver’s license (CDL) to operate those vehicles and employees who perform any safety-sensitive functions are subject to drug and alcohol testing.

A “commercial motor vehicle” is a vehicle that transports sixteen or more persons including the driver or has a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 26,001 pounds or more. A “safety-sensitive function” is a job function in which an accident or an error could cause the loss of human life, serious bodily injury, or significant property or environmental damage, including a job function that involves immediate supervision of a person in a job that meet the requirements of this paragraph. For purposes of the drug and alcohol-testing program, the term “employees” includes applicants who have been offered a position to operate a commercial motor vehicle owned by the school or a position with safety-sensitive functions.

Employees or employee applicants that will operate a school vehicle and/or perform safety-sensitive functions, as described above, are subject to pre-employment drug testing prior to being allowed to perform a safety sensitive function using the school vehicle. In addition, employees operating a school vehicle as described above and/or performing any safety-sensitive function will be subject to random, reasonable suspicion, and post-accident drug and alcohol testing. Employees will not perform a safety-sensitive function within four hours of using alcohol. Employees governed by this regulation are subject to the drug and alcohol testing program beginning the first day they operate or are offered a position to operate school vehicles and/or perform a safety-sensitive function, and continue to be subject to the drug and alcohol testing program as long as they may be required to perform a safety-sensitive function. Employees with questions about the drug and alcohol-testing program may contact the Manager of Transportation at 2500 Edgewood Rd, NW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Employees who violate the terms of this regulation are subject to discipline up to and including termination. Employees who violate this regulation may be required, as a condition of continued employment, to successfully participate in and complete a substance abuse evaluation and a substance abuse treatment program recommended by the substance abuse professional and to be solely financially responsible for such evaluation and program. Employees who fail to or refuse to successfully participate in a substance abuse evaluation or recommended substance abuse treatment program will no longer be allowed to operate a commercial motor vehicle owned by the school, will no longer be allowed to perform safety-sensitive functions, and may be subject to discipline up to and including termination.

The Superintendent/designee will inform applicants of the requirement for drug and alcohol testing in notices or advertisements for employment. The Superintendent/designee will also be responsible for publication and dissemination of this regulation and supporting administrative procedures and forms to employees operating school vehicles and/or performing safety-sensitive functions. Any additional administrative procedures relating to the District’s drug and alcohol testing program are available from the Transportation Department. The Superintendent/designee will also oversee a substance-free awareness program to educate employees about the dangers of substance abuse and notify them of available substance abuse treatment resources and programs.

This regulation shall in no way limit the District’s authority to prohibit other alcohol and drug-related conduct.

 

Legal Reference:

American Trucking Association, Inc., v. Federal Highway Administration, 51 Fed. 3rd
405 (4th Cir. 1995).
49 U.S.C. §§ 5331 et seq. (1994).
42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 (1994).
41 U.S.C. §§ 701-707 (1996).
49 C.F.R. Pt. 40; 382; 391.81-123 (2002).
34 C.F.R. Pt. 85 (2002).
Local 301, Internat’l Assoc. of Fire Fighters, AFL-CIO, and City of Burlington, PERB No. 3876 (3-26-91).
Iowa Code §§ 124; 279.8; 321.375(2); 730.5 (2005).

Cross Reference: 506.4 Substance-Free Workplace

  • Approved: 12-12-94
  • Reviewed: 09-13-99
  • Revised: 06-13-05, 06-10-13, 04-22-19, 07-13-2020
  • Documents: 506.9
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