Administrator Handbook

Personnel

File: 5012 – Employee Policy and Standard of Conduct Dealing with the Misuse of Alcohol and Other Drugs

The Olentangy Board of Education recognizes that an employee's misuse of alcohol and other drugs can have harmful effects on his/her job performance, put stress on interpersonal relationships and create a negative influence on students. Because school employees serve as positive role models for students, they are entrusted with the responsibility of presenting healthy life styles and attitudes. The misuse and abuse of alcohol and other drugs represents a violation of this trust. With these concerns in mind, the board establishes the following policy statements and standards of conduct:

  1. Employees are prohibited to use, distribute, and/or have unlawful possession of alcohol and illicit drugs on school grounds or during school approved activities. Compliance with this standard is mandatory.
  2. Violations to the above statement (1) can lead to disciplinary sanctions up to and including termination of employment. Disciplinary sanctions can include the completion of an appropriate rehabilitation program.
  3. When alcohol and other drug related laws are broken by an employee on school grounds or during school approved activities, the right to confidentiality is lost and school officials will cooperate fully with law enforcement officials.
  4. Individuals who are experiencing problems with alcohol and other drugs could be chemically dependent. The Board recognizes that chemical dependency is a primary, progressive, chronic, potentially fatal, but treatable disease. The board encourages any employee who shows signs of chemical dependency to seek professional assistance.
  5. The board recognizes that chemical dependency in other family members can create problems for the employee, which could affect the employee's job performance. Employees who feel stress from family related chemical dependency are encouraged to seek professional assistance.
  1. Sometimes the signs of harmful involvement in alcohol and other drugs, whether personal or family related, are more apparent to other employees than to the employee involved. The Board encourages concerned employees to work with the substance abuse prevention counselor or other trained professional in developing a plan of assistance.
  2. Information about the harmful effects surrounding the misuse of alcohol and other drugs and related prevention, counseling, and rehabilitation programs will be available to all employees through the substance abuse prevention counselor.
  3. The Board recognizes the right of the school's administration to bring to the attention of an employee his/her deteriorating job performance that might be related to problems with alcohol and other drugs. This can occur on a one-to-one basis or with the assistance of an intervention team of concerned and trained participants.
  4. The confidential nature of the records and information provided by self- and employee- referred cases will be preserved by the substance abuse prevention counselor and other consulted professionals.
  5. This statement of policy and code of conduct will be distributed to all new employees and will be made available to all employees at any time during their employment period.

A Board-approved policy that leads to and allows a program to prevent the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol by employees on school premises or as a part of its activities is required by the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989, Public Law 101-2226. The above policy allows and encourages for this type of a preventive program and satisfies the requirements of the law.

[Adoption date: August 24, 2004]
Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988, Pub. L. No. 100-690, 41 U.S.C.
701 et seq.; 20 U.S.C. 3474, 122le-3(a)(1) (1988);
Drug-Free Workplace Act, 34 C.F.R. § 85 (1988)