Brownwood ISD Superintendent Dr. Joe Young has released a letter to inform the public that BISD administration will soon be presenting the board of trustees a policy recommendation to implement an extracurricular random drug testing program for the upcoming school year. Young said this is “an effort to provide the safest environment in which students can learn and participate in extracurricular activities.”

This program will affect students in grades 7 – 12 who participate in all extracurricular and co-curricular activities. If a middle school or high school student is not involved in extracurricular programs, and a parent wants the child to be included in the test pool, a voluntary participation program will also be available at no charge. Young pointed out that the decision to only test students in extracurricular activities is legal, based on a Supreme Court ruling. After a parent or guardian signs a consent agreement to participate, student names are sent to the testing vendor who does the random selection. Annually, the school board determines the percentage of students to be tested (up to 100% of students in extracurricular activities). Random tests are conducted at least ten times per school year. Consequences for positive results are on an increasing scale.

On all offenses, the parent/guardian is contacted for a conference where results are shared. All offenses include education and counseling requirements along with automatic selection for follow-up testing each test during the next 90 days. If a student fails a follow-up test, the student is removed from extracurricular participation for 30 school days. If the student tests positive again, the student is removed from all activities for the remainder of the school year.