PLAINWELL, Mich. — Plainwell Community Schools has adopted a random drug testing policy to help create a drug-free school for students and district employees.
The new policy will be required for all high school students who participate in extracurricular activities.
This comes after it has seen an increase in the amount of student drug use, which has contributed to an increase in trauma, mental health, and other problems seen throughout the school.
The district says it strongly feels the need to be proactive in helping its students to make better decisions.
The testing will come with a small overall cost to the district.
Participation in the program is mandatory, there is no opt-out. Each trimester, at a time and date established by the principal.
Approximately 10% of the eligible student population would be selected by random number generation for a random drug test per season.
A minimum of one test will be conducted each season. The drug test would be administered by our athletic trainer (test coordinator) in a secure, private facility.
Upon failing a drug test, student athletes would be subjected to the sanctions as outlined in the athletic handbook. Students will not be punished academically and will remain a member of the team or club.
However, any student that displayed positive results would be eligible to return early provided they received counseling and/or treatment from a licensed counselor at the parent’s expense.
