| 1 | Representative(s) Arza offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
| 4 | Remove line(s) 119-267 and insert: |
| 5 | football, baseball, girls' softball, and weightlifting governed |
| 6 | by the organization shall be subject to random testing for the |
| 7 | use of anabolic steroids as defined in s. 893.03(3)(d). All |
| 8 | schools, both public and private, shall consent to the |
| 9 | provisions of this subsection as a prerequisite for membership |
| 10 | in the organization for the duration of the program. |
| 11 | (b) The organization's board of directors shall establish |
| 12 | procedures for the conduct of the program that, at a minimum, |
| 13 | shall provide for the following: |
| 14 | 1. The organization shall select and enter into a contract |
| 15 | with a testing agency that will administer the testing program. |
| 16 | The laboratory utilized by the testing agency to analyze |
| 17 | specimens shall be accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. |
| 18 | 2. A maximum of 1 percent of the total students who |
| 19 | participate in postseason competition in football, baseball, |
| 20 | girls' softball, and weightlifting shall be randomly selected to |
| 21 | undergo a test. |
| 22 | 3. Each member school shall report to the organization the |
| 23 | names of students who will represent the school in football, |
| 24 | baseball, girls' softball, and weightlifting. A student shall |
| 25 | not be eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics in |
| 26 | any of these sports in a member school until the student's name |
| 27 | has been reported to the organization. |
| 28 | 4. The organization shall provide to the testing agency |
| 29 | all names of students that are submitted by its member schools. |
| 30 | The testing agency shall make its random selections for testing |
| 31 | from these names. |
| 32 | 5. The testing agency shall notify not fewer than 7 days |
| 33 | in advance both the administration of a school and the |
| 34 | organization of the date on which its representatives will be |
| 35 | present at the school to collect a specimen from a randomly |
| 36 | selected student. However, the name of the student from which a |
| 37 | specimen is to be collected shall not be disclosed. |
| 38 | 6. The finding of a drug test shall be separate from a |
| 39 | student's educational records and shall be disclosed by the |
| 40 | testing agency only to the organization, the student, the |
| 41 | student's parent, the administration of the student's school, |
| 42 | and the administration of any school to which the student may |
| 43 | transfer during a suspension from participation in |
| 44 | interscholastic athletics resulting from a positive finding. |
| 45 | (c) Each student who wishes to participate in football, |
| 46 | baseball, girls' softball, or weightlifting and his or her |
| 47 | parent must consent to the provisions of this subsection as a |
| 48 | prerequisite for athletic eligibility. This consent shall be in |
| 49 | writing on a form prescribed by the organization and provided to |
| 50 | the student by his or her school. Failure to complete and sign |
| 51 | the consent form shall result in the student's ineligibility to |
| 52 | participate in all interscholastic athletics. The consent form |
| 53 | shall include the following information: |
| 54 | 1. A brief description of the drug testing program. |
| 55 | 2. The penalties for a positive finding. |
| 56 | 3. The procedure for challenging a positive finding. |
| 57 | 4. The procedure for appealing a prescribed penalty. |
| 58 | (d) A student who is selected for testing and fails to |
| 59 | provide a specimen shall be immediately suspended from |
| 60 | interscholastic athletic practice and competition until such |
| 61 | time as a specimen is provided. |
| 62 | (e) If a student tests positive in a test administered |
| 63 | under this subsection, the administration of the school the |
| 64 | student attends shall immediately: |
| 65 | 1. Suspend the student from participation in all |
| 66 | interscholastic athletic practice and competition. |
| 67 | 2. Notify and schedule a meeting with the student and his |
| 68 | or her parent during which the principal or his or her designee |
| 69 | shall review with them the positive finding, the procedure for |
| 70 | challenging the positive finding, the prescribed penalties, and |
| 71 | the procedure for appealing the prescribed penalties. |
| 72 | (f) For a positive finding, the student shall be suspended |
| 73 | from all interscholastic athletic practice and competition for a |
| 74 | period of 90 school days and shall be subject to a mandatory |
| 75 | exit test for restoration of eligibility no sooner than the 60th |
| 76 | school day of the suspension. If the exit test is negative, the |
| 77 | organization shall restore the eligibility of the student at the |
| 78 | conclusion of the 90-school-day period of suspension. If the |
| 79 | exit test is positive, the student shall remain suspended from |
| 80 | all interscholastic athletic practice and competition until such |
| 81 | time as a subsequent retest of the student results in a negative |
| 82 | finding. The student shall be subject to repeated tests for the |
| 83 | duration of his or her high school athletic eligibility. |
| 84 | (g) In addition to the penalties prescribed in paragraph |
| 85 | (f), a student who tests positive in a test administered under |
| 86 | this subsection shall attend and complete an appropriate |
| 87 | mandatory drug education program conducted by the student's |
| 88 | school, the student's school district, or a third-party |
| 89 | organization contracted by the school or school district to |
| 90 | conduct such an education program. |
| 91 | (h) The following due process shall be afforded each |
| 92 | student who tests positive in a test administered under this |
| 93 | subsection: |
| 94 | 1. The member school may challenge a positive finding and |
| 95 | must challenge a positive finding at the request of the student. |
| 96 | A sample of the original specimen provided by the student and |
| 97 | retained by the testing agency shall be analyzed. The member |
| 98 | school or the student's parent shall pay the cost of the |
| 99 | analysis. If the analysis results in a positive finding, the |
| 100 | student shall remain ineligible until the prescribed penalty is |
| 101 | fulfilled. If the analysis results in a negative finding, the |
| 102 | organization shall immediately restore the eligibility of the |
| 103 | student and shall refund to the member school or student's |
| 104 | parent the cost of the analysis. The student shall remain |
| 105 | suspended from interscholastic athletic practice and competition |
| 106 | during the challenge. |
| 107 | 2.a. A member school may appeal to the organization's |
| 108 | commissioner the period of ineligibility imposed on a student as |
| 109 | a result of a positive finding and must appeal at the request of |
| 110 | the student. The commissioner may require the student to |
| 111 | complete the prescribed penalty, reduce the prescribed penalty |
| 112 | by one-half, or provide complete relief from the prescribed |
| 113 | penalty. Regardless of the decision of the commissioner, the |
| 114 | student shall remain ineligible until the student tests negative |
| 115 | on the mandatory exit test and the student's eligibility is |
| 116 | restored by the organization. |
| 117 | b. Should the school or student be dissatisfied with the |
| 118 | decision of the commissioner, the school may pursue the appeal |
| 119 | before the organization's board of directors and must do so at |
| 120 | the request of the student. The board of directors may require |
| 121 | the student to complete the prescribed penalty, reduce the |
| 122 | prescribed penalty by one-half, or provide complete relief from |
| 123 | the prescribed penalty. Regardless of the decision of the board |
| 124 | of directors, the student shall remain ineligible until the |
| 125 | student tests negative on the mandatory exit test and the |
| 126 | student's eligibility is restored by the organization. The |
| 127 | decision of the board of directors on each appeal shall be |
| 128 | final. |
| 129 | c. Technical experts may serve as consultants to both the |
| 130 | organization's commissioner and its board of directors in |
| 131 | connection with such appeals. |
| 132 | (i) No later than October 1, 2007, the organization shall |
| 133 | submit to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the |
| 134 | House of Representatives a report on the results of the program. |
| 135 | The report shall include statistics on the number of students |
| 136 | tested; the number of violations; the number of challenges and |
| 137 | their results; the number of appeals and their dispositions; and |
| 138 | the costs incurred by the organization in the administration of |
| 139 | the program, including attorney's fees and other expenses of |
| 140 | litigation. |
| 141 | (j) The organization, members of its board of directors, |
| 142 | and its employees and member schools and their employees are |
| 143 | exempt from civil liability arising from any act or omission in |
| 144 | connection with the program conducted under this subsection. The |
| 145 | Department of Legal Affairs shall defend the organization, |
| 146 | members of its board of directors, and its employees and member |
| 147 | schools and their employees in any action against such parties |
| 148 | arising from any such act or omission. In providing such |
| 149 | defense, the Department of Legal Affairs may employ or utilize |
| 150 | the legal services of outside counsel. |
| 151 | (k) The program shall be conducted to the extent funded by |
| 152 | the Legislature. In order to conduct the program within |
| 153 | appropriated funds, the organization is authorized to implement |
| 154 | the program in only one, two, or three of the named sports. All |
| 155 | expenses |
| 156 |
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| 157 | ======= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ======= |
| 158 | Remove line(s) 20 and insert: |
| 159 | postseason competition in football, baseball, girls' softball, |
| 160 | and |