403.7R2 - Drug and Alcohol Testing Program Definitions

Air blank - a reading by an evidential breath testing device (EBT) of ambient air containing non alcohol.

Alcohol - the intoxicating agent in beverage alcohol, ethyl alcohol, or other low molecular weight alcohols including methyl and isopropyl alcohol.

Alcohol concentration (or content) - the alcohol in a volume of breath expressed in terms of grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath as indicated by an evidentiary breath test under the law.

Alcohol use - the consumption of any beverage, mixture or preparation, including any medication, containing alcohol.

BAC - breath alcohol concentration.

Breath Alcohol Technician (BAT) - an individual who instructs and assists drivers in the alcohol testing process and operates an evidential breath testing device.

Canceled or invalid test - in drug testing it is a drug test that has been declared invalid by a Medical Review Officer or a specimen that has been rejected for testing by a laboratory. In alcohol testing it is a test that is deemed to be invalid under the law. A canceled test drug or alcohol test is neither a positive nor a negative test.

Chain of Custody - procedures to account for the integrity of each urine or blood specimen by tracking its handling and storage from point of specimen collection to final disposition of the specimen. With respect to drug testing, these procedures require that an appropriate drug testing custody form be used from time of collection to receipt by the laboratory and that upon receipt by the laboratory an appropriate laboratory chain of custody form(s) account(s) for the sample or sample aliquots within the laboratory.

Collection site - a place where drivers present themselves for the purpose of providing body fluid or a tissue sample to be analyzed for specific drugs or breath alcohol concentration.

Confirmation test - for alcohol testing it is a second test following a screening test with a result of 0.02 breath alcohol concentration or greater that provides quantitative data of alcohol concentration. For drug testing it is a second analytical procedure (GC/MS) to identify the presence of a specific drug or metabolite which is independent of the initial test and which uses a different technique and chemical principle from that of the initial test in order to ensure reliability and accuracy.

Controlled substances/Drugs - marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines and phencyclidine.

Driver - any person who operates a school vehicle. This includes, but is not limited to: full time, regularly employed drivers; casual, intermittent or occasional drivers; leased drivers and independent, owner-operator contractors who are either directly employed by or under lease to the school district or who operate a school vehicle at the direction of or with the consent of the school district. For the purposes of pre-employment/pre duty testing only, the term "driver" includes applicants for drivers of school vehicles positions.

Initial test (or screening test) - in drug testing it is an immunoassay screen to eliminate "negative" urine specimens from further consideration. In alcohol testing it is an analytic procedure to determine whether a driver may have a prohibited concentration of alcohol in a breath specimen.

Medical review officer (MRO) - a licensed physician (medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy) responsible for receiving laboratory results generated by an employer's drug testing program who has knowledge of substance abuse disorders and has appropriate medical training to interpret and evaluate a driver's confirmed positive test result together with the driver's medical history and any other relevant bio-medical information.

Non-suspicion-based post-accident testing - testing of a driver after an accident without regard to whether there is any reasonable suspicion of drug usage, reasonable cause to believe the driver has been operating the school vehicle while under the influence of drugs, or reasonable cause to believe the driver was at fault in the accident and drug usage may have been a factor.

Performing a safety-sensitive function - a driver is considered to be performing a safety-sensitive function during any period in which the driver is actually performing, ready to perform, or immediately available to perform any safety-sensitive function.

NOTE: Alcohol tests may only be administered just before, during or just after the performance of a safety-sensitive function. At this time the U.S. Department of Transportation is interpreting this language to mean thirty minutes before or thirty minutes after the performance of a safety-sensitive function.

Random Selection Process - when drug tests are unannounced and every driver has an equal chance of being selected for testing.

Reasonable suspicion - when the school district believes the appearance, behavior, speech or body odors of the driver are indicative of the use of drugs or alcohol.

Refusal to test - when a driver

(1) fails to provide adequate breath for alcohol testing without a valid medical explanation after he or she has received notice of the requirement for breath testing in accordance with the provisions of the law,

(2) fails to provide adequate urine for drug testing without a valid medical explanation after he or she has received notice of the requirement for urine testing in accordance with the provisions of the law, or

(3) engages in conduct that clearly obstructs the testing process. A refusal to test is treated as a positive drug test result or an alcohol test result of 0.04 breath alcohol concentration or greater.

Safety-sensitive function - all time from the time when a driver begins to work or is required to be in readiness to work until the time the driver is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work.

NOTE: Alcohol tests may only be administered just before, during or just after the performance of a safety-sensitive function. At this time the U.S. Department of Transportation is interpreting this language to mean thirty minutes before or thirty minutes after the performance of a safety-sensitive function.

School vehicle - a vehicle owned, leased, and/or operated at the direction or with the consent of the school district which transports sixteen or more persons, including the driver, or weighs over twenty-six thousand one pounds and requires the driver to have/possess a commercial driver's license in order to operate the vehicle.

Split specimen/split sample - the division of the urine specimen into thirty milliliters in a specimen bottle (the primary sample) and into at least fifteen milliliters in second specimen bottle (the split sample).

Substance abuse professional (SAP) - a licensed physician (medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy) or a licensed or certified psychologist, social worker, employee assistance professional, or addiction counselor (certified by the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors Certification Commission) with knowledge of, and clinical experience in, the diagnosis and treatment of alcohol and controlled substances-related disorders.

 

 

Approved: November 1995      
Reviewed: January 2017, May 2020