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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 2004)
Heppner Gazette- Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, November 10,2004 - THREE Morrow County School board continued from page one District, including but not lim ited to c o -c u rric u la r athletics, extra-curricular clubs and o rg a n iz atio n s sponsored by the school, and student body organizations including student council. Season: Fall, winter and spring ath le tic and cheerleader seasons begin on the first day o f practice and end the day prior to the next season as determined by the Oregon School A ctivities Association For other co- curricular activities a season will be an academic quarter Positive Test: The presence o f any level o f illegal drugs o th e r than prescription medications (See Procedures 4 0) Procedures: Rules related to this policy will be made available in writing as a part o f the registration process The rules will be reviewed with stu d en ts by the coach/ advisor at the beginning of each sport season/activity in w hich the student p artic ip a tes. An “Authorization to Test for Drugs” Agreement will be signed by each student and h is/her p a re n t/g u ard ian before the student will be allowed to participate in any co-curricular activity. The policy will be in effect the e n tire school year the stu d en t is enrolled at a M orrow C ounty School District jr/sr high school and will govern the conduct of the co-curricular participant. Consequences for violations d u ring the spring will continue into the next year. 1.0) Consent Each student involved in any co-curricular program(s) will be required to provide a signed consent form prior to joining the program. Both student and paflent/guardian signatures are required 2.0) Non-punitive Nature of Policy Students will not be penalized academically for testing positive for illegal drugs under this policy. Nor will co-curricular drug tests be docu m en ted in any student’s academic records The information gathered under this policy will only be disclosed to crim inal or juvenile authorities in order to comply with lawful court orders or subpoenas In the event o f such legal compulsion, the District will notify parents/guardians at least 72 hours p rior to releasing information 3.0) Testing Rules 3.1) All co-curricular participants may be tested at the beginning o f any season at the d iscretio n o f the superintendent 3.2) A dditionally, random te stin g will be conducted throughout the school year at the superintendent’s discretion. 3.2.1) A minimum of 5 percent and a maximum o f 1 OOpercent o f co-curricular participants will be tested at each te st period as determ ined by the superintendent 3 .2 .2 ) O nce the “Authorization to Test for Drugs” Agreement is signed the student is eligible for random testing whether or not he/she is at that time p a rtic ip a tin g in a co- curricular activity. 4.0) Procedures for Testing 4.1) Selection for testing will be by random procedures from a pool of all students who have signed the “Authorization to Test for Drugs” Agreement. The superintendent will take due precautions to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the selection process. No individual involved in the selection process will be able to identify students or to determine the selection o f a particular student for testing 4.2) The jr/sr high school principal will be notified on the day students are selected for testing and will arrange for samples to be taken the same day. If a student is absent on a testing day an altern ate will be tested. The absent student will become a part o f the group the next tim e a random test is done. Any student unable to provide the sample will be expected to remain at the collection area until a specimen is obtained Those selected for testing will be given the option of doing so in private 4.3) Students who refuse a sam ple will be considered to have tested positive and will be subject to the proced u res listed under section 9-0. 5.0) Prescription Medications Students on prescription m edications may provide a copy o f the prescription or a physician’s written verification to school personnel within 24 hours o f the tim e a sam ple is collected Any information provided in this manner will be sealed in an envelope and forwarded to the testing lab with instructions to consider the medication in processing the sample. Prescriptions or doctor’s verifications will not be reviewed by school 0 ^0 o fficials and may be p resen ted in ' sealed envelopes Students who do not provide verification and test positive will be subject to the measures specified under section 8.0 and 9.0 of these procedures 6.0) Scope of Tests and C o n fid en tia lity of Results 6.1) All specimens will be collected and tested by a S tate certified laboratory or local certified collection site Specimens may be collected at a local certified collection site for m ake-up or follow -up te stin g nefids C hain o f custody p ro ced u res, as recom m ended by the laboratory, will be followed 6.2) Screening tests will test for common illegal drugs o f abuse The superintendent shall decide prior to selection o f students which illegal drugs shall be screened Samples will not be screened for the presence of any substance other than an illegal drug or for the existence o f any physical condition other than drug intoxication 6.3) Test results will be communicated only to the su p erin ten d en t or the superintendent’s designee and principal Individual test information will be treated confidentially. 7.0) V oluntary Student C o n fe ssion Admission With the intent o f encouraging participants who are using drugs to participate in drug treatment programs, Morrow County School D istrict supports students who voluntarily admit that they use/abuse illegal drugs If a student voluntarily confesses admits to their a coach, advisor, ath letic d irecto r, or administration that they have a drug problem at least 24 hours p rio r to any drug te stin g w indow the following discipline will be administered 7.1) First Voluntary Confession Admission 7.1.1) For the first v o lu n tary confession given the option o f a short suspension (defined below), a good faith participation in a State certified drug and alcohol assistance program at the stu d e n t’s/p a re n t’s expense, and submission to bi-weekly drug testing for eight weeks (regardless of whether or not the season ends p rio r to the eight weeks) or suspension from the athletic program for the rem ainder o f the current season and the next athletic season o f participation (for non-athletic participants a season is equal to 1 academic quarter) If the student elects the option o f participating in a drug assistance program, the student will continue to practice/participate with the 0 Hot Oregon Chai 2S(t OFF and d u ties and club activities and trips, or any by the 7.2) Second V oluntary C o n fe ss ion Admission 7 .2 .1 ) For the second voluntary confession admission, discipline will be handled according to the first offense under 9.1.1. Repeat confessions admissions will be deal w ith under subsection 9.2 and 9.3. 8.0) P ositive Results W henever a participant’s results indicate the p resen ce o f drugs (positive test), a meeting will be scheduled w ith the student, the parent(s) or guardian and the building principal 9.0) Discipline D ue pro cess procedures will be followed for all discipline arising from violation o f the d istrict’s policy. 9.1) First Positive Result 9.1.1) For the first positive test the student will be given the option of a short suspension (defined below), a good faith participation in a State certified drug and alcohol assistance program at the stu d en t’s/p a re n t’s expense, and submission to bi-weekly drug testing for eight weeks (regardless o f whether or not the season ends p rio r to the eight weeks) or suspension from the athletic program for the rem ainder o f the current season and the next season of participation If the student elects the option o f participating in a drug assistance program, the student will continue to practice/participate with the team /gro u p , but not p articipate in any gam e/ events* during the suspension. The minimum length o f the suspension shall New! Youth Sizes available fo r Heppner try our new Pumpkin Pie Mustang & Eggnog Frappe $3.50 ^Sweatshirts, WE HAVE MUSTANG Peterson s % 7 H «p p n «r Jew elers/ f j/ 676-9200 be for three weeks (21 days), which will carry over to the next season o f participation if the schedule ends before th e th re e w eeks have elapsed If the first session o f th e drug assistan ce program has not occurred at the end o f the three weeks, the student will be suspended from p ra c tice and p a rtic ip a tio n in gam es/ events* until he/she has attended at least one session Continued participation will be contingent on the student missing no session o f the drug testing program *events fo r non athletic participants include, c o n certs, perform ances. fo rm al ASB d u ties and privileges, out-of-school club activities and trips, or any___oth er___club or organizational event deemed but are not (ÏCU&'" Vd&um' Vatf Cafuk Espresso Special: We will be closed on Veteran's Day Thursday, November 11th team /g ro u p , but not participate in any gam e/ events* du rin g the suspension The minimum length o f the suspension shall be for 10 days, which will carry over to the next season o f p a rtic ip a tio n if the schedule ends before the 10 days have elapsed If the first session o f the drug assistance program has not occurred at the end o f 10 days, the student will be suspended from p artic ip atio n p ra ctice / inv o lv em en t________ and p articipation in c o n te sts games/events* until he/she has attended at least one session C o n tin u ed p a rtic ip a tio n will be contingent on the student missing no session o f the drug-testing program. ^ Mumy'j D ab T 217 North Main. Heppner 676 9158 Serving Heppner Lexington & lone y f r r m r r r r r r r r r r n r r r r r w r r r rre « * r r r crtrrt in m n r r n n r t 9.2) Second Positive Result 9 .2 .1 ) For the second positive test in the student’s jr/sr high school career, the student will be suspended from the at hletic co-curricular program for the remainder of the current season and the next at hletic seasons in which the student equal to 1 academic quarter). 9.3) Third Positive Result 9.3.1) For the third positive test in the student’s jr/sr high school career, the student will be suspend from remainder o f the at hlete’s student’s jr/sr high school career The new drug testing policy, if approved, would be initially adopted at Heppner High School and then could be implemented at the other schools in the district if so desired Heppner Principal Wade Smith said that they planned to implement the policy at HHS because drug testing has been a topic of discussion at school com m ittees and in the H eppner com m unity for around a year and a half. Smith also answered some questions concerning the pro p o sed policy. In response to a question as to why the district plans to only test those in co-curricular programs, rather than the student body as a whole, he told the assembly that it would be illegal because p a rticip atin g in a co- c u rricu lar program is voluntary, contrasted to being a part o f the entire student body. Smith said that if a stu d en t signs a w aiver permitting drug testing, the waiver would apply for the whole year. For example, a student playing only football would play sports only for the fall quarter, but would be eligible for random drug testing the entire school year A student who does not sign the waiver will not be permitted to participate in any co-curricular activity Smith said that the district’s hope is that the policy would deter students from using drugs, give the student a way to say “no” when offered drugs and would get the student help if they voluntarily admitted drug use or failed a drug test In other business, the board heard a proposal from OSAA, which would revisit the schools classifications and add an additional classification for a “super” school o f 1,201 students or more Current OSAA school classifications are 1A- 115 or fewer students: 2A- 116 to 325 students. 3A- 326 to f 900 students and 4A- 901 or m ore The p ro p o sed classifications would be as follows 1A- 100 or fewer students, 2A- 101 to 250 students, 3A- 251 to 600 students; 4A- 601-1,200 stu d en ts; and the new classification, 5A- 1,201 or more M C S D S u p erin ten d en t M ark Burrows said that if the new c lassific atio n w ere implemented, district high schools may not qualify for 2A status as they may have been w ith th e c u rre n t classificatio n R iverside High School, currently 3A under the old classification, still has Irrigon juniors and seniors enrolled, in addition to Boardman students. Next year Riverside would have Irrig o n sen io rs and Boardm an students The following year, Boardman nine to 12 stu d en ts will atten d R iverside H igh School and Irrigon high school students will attend Irrigon High School. Currently Riverside (3A) has 370 students in grades nine to 12 (next year around 317 are anticipated at RHS which would put the school in 2A u n d er the current classification and in 3A under the p ro p o sed classification); Irrigon High School has around 150 freshmen and sophomores attending; and Heppner High School (2A) has around 135 students attending in grades nine to 12. Burrows said that he would work with OSAA to change the proposed classifications to try to keep M orrow C ounty high sch o o ls w ithin th e 2A classificatio n because it w ould cut dow n on extensive travel time for the students and ultimately be less costly for the district Now HHS at 2A is in the CBC league, while Riverside at 3A is in the G re ater Oregon League In other business, the board: -learned that a grant request to Nike for funding o f a track at Heppner High School was not successful. Smith said that asphalting is anticipated to be around $27,000 to $28,000 He said that he plans to ask the Heppner Booster Club for funding, but still expects to be around $5,000-$ 10,000 short He said that he had sought donations and plans to re-subm it the gran t request -heard reports from John Renfro on the district’s alte rn ativ e e d u catio n program, from Dirk Dirksen on the R iverside High School student achievement goal report and from Joel C havez on th e English Language Learner program -approved a change in m eeting dates for the C om m unity E d u catio n Committee meetings -heard the following announcements: Veteran's Day H oliday, Nov. 11; O regon School B oards A ssociation co nvention, P o rtlan d , Nov. 12-14; Thanksgiving holiday, Nov. 25-26, next regular board m eeting, H ep p n er Elementary School, 7 p m , Dec 13. Magnetic Door Signs Order Yours Here Heppner Gazette-Times 676-9228
