COSTA MESA, NEWPORT BEACH : Drug Test Rules Approved for Newport-Mesa School Bus Drivers

Newport-Mesa Unified School District bus drivers, mechanics and their supervisors will be subject to drug and alcohol testing under a regulation approved last week by the school board.

The federal Department of Transportation requires school districts to have policies that provide for pre-employment drug and alcohol testing, as well as random sampling of at least 25% of the transportation work force each year. Although the schools already had required testing following accidents and when there is reason to suspect an employee may be under the influence of a substance, it has amended these regulations to incorporate the federal rules.

Under the new district rule, “reasonable suspicion” is defined as “specific . . . articulatable observations” by a supervisor “concerning the appearance, behavior, speech or body odors of the employee” immediately before, during or after the employee’s performance of a safety-sensitive task.

Employees tested under that standard will be placed on paid administrative leave pending the results of the tests.

The rule and federal standards now both state that at least one quarter and up to an average of half the work force should be randomly tested annually .

Labs approved for the testing are specified in the regulation. Positive test results are not to be reported to the district until an employee has been contacted confidentially and given a chance to discuss his or her medical history. An employee could also request a partial sample to give to an independent lab.

The rule approved by the board is to be incorporated into district transportation workers’ contracts and was the result of negotiations with unions.

It applies to those who drive district vehicles or whose job requirements include a class A or B driver’s license, including school bus drivers and trainees, dispatchers, mechanics and service attendants, their on-site supervisors and the district director of transportation.