Section (4000) Personnel
Policy Name Drug & Alcohol Testing for School Bus Drivers
Policy Number 4440
Date Approved 06/14/2021
Date Revised
Date Revised
Date Revised  
Date Revised  
Policy

DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING FOR SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS

 

Contracts for transportation approved by the Plainville Board of Education shall contain assurance that the contractor will establish a drug and alcohol testing program that meets the requirements of federal regulations.

 

In addition, the Board expects its school transportation contractor to train all school bus drivers, with instruction pertaining to the identification, the signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis, and in the administration of epinephrine by a cartridge injector ("EpiPen"), the notification of emergency personnel, and the reporting of an incident involving a student's life-threatening allergic reaction. Such training shall occur following the issuance or renewal of an endorsement to operate a school bus for carrier employees, and upon the hiring of a school bus driver, except a driver who received the training after the most recent issuance or renewal of his or her endorsement is not required to repeat it.

 

Prior to employment of bus drivers, the Board expects its sc hool transportation carrier to conduct a full query of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse) to obtain information about the driver' s eligibility under federal rules to perform a safety-sensitive function. The Distr ict/school transportation carrier will also contact prior employers where the applicant was a CDL driver for information to determine the driver's eligibility to perform safety-sensitive functions (prior employers' inquiries will continue until January 2023).

 

The school transportation carrier will also utilize the Clearinghouse for current CDL drivers who are employers on at least an annual basis. Required personal information that is collected and maintained in connection with the testing program shall also be repo1ted, as required, to the Clearinghouse.

 

Legal Reference:        United States Code, Title 49

2717 Alcohol and controlled substances testing (Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991)

Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49

40 Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs

382 Controlled Substance and Alcohol Use and Testing (as amended)

395 Hours of Service Drivers

Holiday v. City of Modesto (1991) 229 Cal. App. 3d. 528,540. International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. Department of Transportation 932 F. 2d 1292 (1991)

American Trucking Association, Inc. v. Federal Highway Administration, (1995) WL 136022 (4th circuit) Connecticut General Statutes

10-212c Life-threatening food allergies and glycogen storage disease: Guidelines: district plans. (as amended by PA 18-185) 14-261b Drug and alcohol testing of drivers of certain vehicles, Mechanics and forklift operators

52-557b Immunity from liability for emergency medical assistance first aid or medication by injection. School personnel not required to administer or render. (as amended by PA 18-185, An Act Concerning the Recommendations of the Task Force on Life-Threatening Food Allergies in Schools)