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Discipline Policy

POLICY FOR MCHS STUDENTS CONCERNING DRUG USE

It shall be the policy of MCHS that student consumption of any contraband, controlled substance or any other illicit drug is prohibited.  This policy supplements, and does not replace the provisions set forth in the MCHS By-laws and Student Handbook regarding student possession, distribution, purchase or sale of any illicit drug. The rationale behind drug testing is:(1)  Deter young adults from beginning or continuing drug use, and
(2)  Identify young adults who are harmfully involved in drug use so they can be steered into appropriate drug education and treatment.

We wish to empower our students with knowledge and skills in order to make responsible decisions about their behaviors.  We believe that the most effective deterrent to drug usage is openness and communication among students, parents, and the school community.  This collaborative effort serves to enhance all aspects of school life in order to produce healthy, positive and productive citizens.  Attendance at a Catholic high school is a privilege, not a right.  With the privilege come certain responsibilities.  We hold students and their parents, or guardians, to a high standard of behavior in areas that affect the well being and safety of all students.  All students and parents are required to consent to participation in all aspects of this policy and its accompanying administrative regulation as a condition of the student’s continued enrollment at MCHS.

The principal shall be responsible for notifying persons affected by these policies and for developing enforcement procedures.

School procedures to be followed for those students found to have consumed any illicit drug or controlled substance are as follows:

1.  The first violation will result in a confidential meeting with the parent(s) or guardian(s), the affected student and the principal to discuss the drug test findings.  A follow up testing date of approximately 100 days from meeting (paid for by student, parent(s), or guardian(s) will be scheduled. Furthermore, disciplinary consequences will be enacted, per the Parent-Student Handbook. 

2.  A second violation will result in a confidential meeting with the parent(s) or
guardian(s), the affected student and the principal to discuss the drug test findings.
In addition, a second violation will require the student to undergo an assessment
by a duly licensed and accredited drug treatment center with follow up treatment
as recommended by the drug treatment center.  This assessment and treatment must
commence within 30 days of the discovery of the positive drug test finding.  Any
student not in compliance with the mandates set forth in this paragraph for a second
violation will be dismissed.  The expense of the assessments and follow up treatments
will be borne by the student, parent(s) or guardian(s). Furthermore, disciplinary consequences will be enacted, per the Parent-Student Handbook. 

3.  A third violation will result in immediate expulsion.  The three strikes will run concurrent
throughout the student’s enrollment at MCHS.

SCREENING FOR DRUG USAGE
Students will be screened for drug usage utilizing diocesan approved drug testing services employing immunoassay urine drug screen (IUDS) and post positive, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) confirmation test.  Specifically, samples will be submitted to an approved drug testing company for IUDS detection of the presence of Cocaine, Opiates, Phencyclidine (PCP), Marijuana, and Methamphetamine. Post positive testing includes GC/MS confirmation for Benzoylecgonine (Cocaine Metabolite), Opiates (Heroin/Morphine/Codeine), PCP, Carboxy-THC (Marijuana Metabolite), Methamphetamine, and Ecstasy.  The use of such drugs by students without legitimate medical authorization is prohibited.  MCHS reserves the right to test for additional drug substances as such screening becomes available. MCHS students will be screened for drug use as follows: 

1)  Annual Screening:  All students will be screened for drugs at least once per year. (At the beginning of the first semester)
2)  Random Screening:  Any student enrolled at MCHS is subject to screening for drug use on a randomly selected basis in addition to the annual screening. Consequently, some students may be tested more than once a year.  There is no cost to the parents for the random testing.  (Twenty-five percent, 25%, of the student body will be randomly tested per school year.)  The students will be randomly selected for subsequent screenings by numerical sampling conducted by Marquette.
3)  Follow-Up Screening:  Any student found to be in violation of this policy and administrative regulation will be subject to follow-up screening.  Such follow-up screening will take place approximately one hundred (100) days after the student has received a positive test result.
4)  Transfer Students:  All transfer students shall submit to screening for drug use on a date as soon as possible after applying for admission.  Transfer students will be tested for drugs in their transfer year to Marquette and all subsequent years, like all other students. 

DRUG SCREENING METHOD
MCHS will use urine-sampling procedures for the purposes of policy implementation.  Urine sample testing will be run by medical professionals, with samples collected by the student being tested, then handled by medical professionals, and tested by medical professionals.  Notification of test results will be given to the Principal or Drug Screening Coordinator of the program by the drug testing company.  Parents or guardians and students shall be notified of a positive test result as soon as possible by the Principal or designee by a phone call.  An email and letter will be sent home approximately within 2 weeks on a positive result.

Disciplinary consequences will follow up after the positive result. Please consult the Parent-Student Handbook for disciplinary consequences. In some cases, a substance abuse professional shall be required to advise the school if the student should be following a plan of treatment.  In such cases, upon completion of necessary treatment, the student must submit to follow-up testing as above set forth.  All costs associated with assessment, treatment and follow-up testing shall be borne by the student or the student’s parents or guardians.

The high school will make reasonable attempts to keep information respecting positive drug tests and the follow-up procedures of the school confidential.

APPEAL OF TEST RESULTS
If the student or his or her family feels the test results are erroneous, the student or family has the right to request that a second test is taken,  This test must be requested and taken within seven (7) days of the notification of the positive result.  The cost shall be borne by the student, parents or guardians.  Furthermore, all requests for a second test will be submitted to the same company that provided the initial test results for urine analysis.  If the second test results vary from the first test results, the principal and the parents or guardians will discuss the further action to be taken; however, the school’s decision shall be final.

RETENTION RECORDS
No documentation pertaining to each student’s screening for drug use will be made part of the student’s permanent record.  All documentation will be kept in a separate confidential file with the Drug Screening Coordinator and will be destroyed upon three (3) years of the student’s graduation from high school.