1 | A bill to be entitled |
2 | An act relating to high school athletics; amending s. |
3 | 1006.20, F.S.; requiring the Florida High School Athletic |
4 | Association to facilitate a 1-year drug testing program to |
5 | randomly test certain students for anabolic steroid use; |
6 | requiring schools to consent to the provisions of the |
7 | program as a prerequisite for membership in the |
8 | organization; requiring the organization to establish |
9 | procedures for the conduct of the program, including |
10 | contracting with a testing agency to administer the |
11 | program; providing that records relating to drug tests and |
12 | challenge and appeal proceedings shall be maintained |
13 | separately from a student's educational record; requiring |
14 | students and their parents to consent to the provisions of |
15 | the program as a prerequisite for eligibility to |
16 | participate in specified sports; requiring the |
17 | administration of a school to meet with a student who |
18 | tests positive and his or her parent to review the |
19 | finding, penalties, and procedures for challenge and |
20 | appeal; providing penalties for positive findings; |
21 | providing due process procedures for challenge and appeal; |
22 | providing that the result of a drug test is not admissible |
23 | in a criminal prosecution; requiring a report to the |
24 | Legislature on the results of the program; providing an |
25 | exemption from civil liability resulting from |
26 | implementation of the program; requiring the Department of |
27 | Legal Affairs to provide defense in claims of civil |
28 | liability; requiring program expenses to be paid through |
29 | legislative appropriation; providing for repeal of the |
30 | program; providing an effective date. |
31 |
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32 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
33 |
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34 | Section 1. Subsection (10) is added to section 1006.20, |
35 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
36 | 1006.20 Athletics in public K-12 schools.-- |
37 | (10) RANDOM DRUG TESTING PROGRAM.-- |
38 | (a) Contingent upon funding, and to the extent funded, the |
39 | organization shall facilitate a 1-year program during the 2007- |
40 | 2008 academic year in which students in grades 9 through 12 in |
41 | its member schools who participate in regular and postseason |
42 | competition in football, baseball, or weightlifting governed by |
43 | the organization shall be subject to random testing for the use |
44 | of anabolic steroids as defined in s. 893.03(3)(d). All schools, |
45 | both public and private, shall consent to the provisions of this |
46 | subsection as a prerequisite for membership in the organization |
47 | for the duration of the program. |
48 | (b) The organization's board of directors shall establish |
49 | procedures for the conduct of the program that, at a minimum, |
50 | shall provide for the following: |
51 | 1. The organization shall select and enter into a contract |
52 | with a testing agency that will administer the testing program. |
53 | The laboratory utilized by the testing agency to analyze |
54 | specimens shall be accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. |
55 | 2. Each member school shall report to the organization the |
56 | names of all students who will represent the school in football, |
57 | baseball, and weightlifting. A student shall not be eligible to |
58 | participate in interscholastic athletics in any of these sports |
59 | in a member school until the student's name has been reported to |
60 | the organization by the school. |
61 | 3. The organization shall provide to the testing agency |
62 | all names of students that are submitted by its member schools. |
63 | A maximum of 1 percent of the total number of students who |
64 | participate in football, baseball, and weightlifting shall be |
65 | randomly selected by the testing agency to undergo testing. |
66 | 4. The testing agency shall notify not fewer than 7 days |
67 | in advance both the administration of a school and the |
68 | organization of the date on which its representatives will be |
69 | present at the school to collect a specimen from a randomly |
70 | selected student. However, the name of the student from which a |
71 | specimen is to be collected shall not be disclosed. |
72 | 5. Records relating to drug tests under this subsection |
73 | and to the challenge and appeal proceedings under paragraph (h) |
74 | shall be maintained separately from a student's educational |
75 | record. |
76 | (c) Each student who wishes to participate in football, |
77 | baseball, or weightlifting and his or her parent must consent to |
78 | the provisions of this subsection as a prerequisite for athletic |
79 | eligibility. This consent shall be in writing on a form |
80 | prescribed by the organization and provided to the student by |
81 | his or her school. Failure to complete and sign the consent form |
82 | shall result in the student's ineligibility to participate in |
83 | the sport for which the consent form is required. The consent |
84 | form shall include the following information: |
85 | 1. A brief description of the drug testing program. |
86 | 2. The penalties for a positive finding. |
87 | 3. The procedure for challenging a positive finding. |
88 | 4. The procedure for appealing a prescribed penalty. |
89 | (d) A student who is selected for testing and fails to |
90 | provide a specimen shall be immediately suspended from |
91 | interscholastic athletic practice and competition until such |
92 | time as a specimen is provided. |
93 | (e) If a student tests positive in a test administered |
94 | under this subsection, the administration of the school the |
95 | student attends shall immediately: |
96 | 1. Suspend the student from participation in all |
97 | interscholastic athletic practice and competition. |
98 | 2. Notify and schedule a meeting with the student and his |
99 | or her parent during which the principal or his or her designee |
100 | shall review with them the positive finding, the procedure for |
101 | challenging the positive finding, the prescribed penalties, and |
102 | the procedure for appealing the prescribed penalties. |
103 | (f) For a positive finding, the student shall be suspended |
104 | from all interscholastic athletic practice and competition for a |
105 | period of 90 school days and shall be subject to a mandatory |
106 | exit test for restoration of eligibility no sooner than the 60th |
107 | school day of the suspension. If the exit test is negative, the |
108 | organization shall immediately restore the eligibility of the |
109 | student. If the exit test is positive, the student shall remain |
110 | suspended from all interscholastic athletic practice and |
111 | competition until such time as a subsequent retest of the |
112 | student results in a negative finding. The student shall be |
113 | subject to repeated tests for the duration of his or her high |
114 | school athletic eligibility. |
115 | (g) In addition to the penalties prescribed in paragraph |
116 | (f), a student who tests positive in a test administered under |
117 | this subsection shall attend and complete an appropriate |
118 | mandatory drug education program conducted by the student's |
119 | school, the student's school district, or a third-party |
120 | organization contracted by the school or school district to |
121 | conduct such an education program. |
122 | (h) The following due process shall be afforded each |
123 | student who tests positive in a test administered under this |
124 | subsection: |
125 | 1. The member school may challenge a positive finding and |
126 | must challenge a positive finding at the request of the student. |
127 | A sample of the original specimen provided by the student and |
128 | retained by the testing agency shall be analyzed. The member |
129 | school or the student's parent shall pay the cost of the |
130 | analysis. If the analysis results in a positive finding, the |
131 | student shall remain ineligible until the prescribed penalty is |
132 | fulfilled. If the analysis results in a negative finding, the |
133 | organization shall immediately restore the eligibility of the |
134 | student and shall refund to the member school or student's |
135 | parent the cost of the analysis. The student shall remain |
136 | suspended from interscholastic athletic practice and competition |
137 | during the challenge. |
138 | 2.a. The member school may appeal to the organization's |
139 | commissioner the period of ineligibility imposed on a student as |
140 | a result of a positive finding and must appeal at the request of |
141 | the student. The commissioner may require the student to |
142 | complete the prescribed penalty, reduce the prescribed penalty |
143 | by one-half, or provide complete relief from the prescribed |
144 | penalty. Regardless of the decision of the commissioner, the |
145 | student shall remain ineligible until the student tests negative |
146 | on an exit drug test and the student's eligibility is restored |
147 | by the organization. |
148 | b. Should the member school or student be dissatisfied |
149 | with the decision of the commissioner, the school may pursue the |
150 | appeal before the organization's board of directors and must do |
151 | so at the request of the student. The board of directors may |
152 | require the student to complete the prescribed penalty, reduce |
153 | the prescribed penalty by one-half, or provide complete relief |
154 | from the prescribed penalty. Regardless of the decision of the |
155 | board of directors, the student shall remain ineligible until |
156 | the student tests negative on an exit drug test and the |
157 | student's eligibility is restored by the organization. The |
158 | decision of the board of directors on each appeal shall be |
159 | final. |
160 | c. Technical experts may serve as consultants to both the |
161 | organization's commissioner and its board of directors in |
162 | connection with such appeals. |
163 | (i) The result of a drug test under this subsection shall |
164 | not be admissible as evidence in a criminal prosecution. |
165 | (j) No later than October 1, 2008, the organization shall |
166 | submit to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the |
167 | House of Representatives a report on the results of the program. |
168 | The report shall include statistics on the number of students |
169 | tested; the number of violations; the number of challenges and |
170 | their results; the number of appeals and their dispositions; and |
171 | the costs incurred by the organization in the administration of |
172 | the program, including attorney's fees and other expenses of |
173 | litigation. |
174 | (k) The organization, members of its board of directors, |
175 | and its employees and member schools and their employees are |
176 | exempt from civil liability arising from any act or omission in |
177 | connection with the program conducted under this subsection. The |
178 | Department of Legal Affairs shall defend the organization, |
179 | members of its board of directors, and its employees and member |
180 | schools and their employees in any action against such parties |
181 | arising from any such act or omission. In providing such |
182 | defense, the Department of Legal Affairs may employ or utilize |
183 | the legal services of outside counsel. |
184 | (l) The program shall be conducted to the extent funded by |
185 | the Legislature. In order to conduct the program within |
186 | appropriated funds, the organization is authorized to implement |
187 | the program in only one or two of the named sports. All expenses |
188 | of the program shall be paid with funds appropriated by the |
189 | Legislature. Such expenses shall include, but not be limited to, |
190 | all fees and expenses charged by the testing agency for |
191 | administrative services, specimen collection services, and |
192 | specimen analysis; all administrative expenses incurred by the |
193 | organization in the facilitation of the program; and all |
194 | attorney's fees and other expenses of litigation resulting from |
195 | legal challenges related to the program. |
196 | (m) This subsection shall stand repealed on October 2, |
197 | 2008, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment |
198 | by the Legislature. |
199 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |