Wv Bus Drivers Get Jump On Drug-Testing Program

West Valley School District bus drivers aren’t dragging their feet about complying with a federally mandated random drug and alcohol testing program.

They’re getting started 10 months early.

An amendment to the Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988 requires school districts with 50 or fewer bus drivers, such as West Valley, to start testing on Jan. 1, 1996.

“But we want to be proactive,” said Joe Dawson, the district’s director of transportation. “We want people here to be abiding by the law, not allowing drunks or substance abusers to drive our children.”

The West Valley School Board adopted the policy at its meeting Wednesday night.

All applicants for bus driving jobs and drivers who have received a traffic citation or are in an accident involving a fatality will be tested.

In addition, 25 percent of the drivers will be undergo random breath tests for alcohol, and 50 percent will take urine tests for controlled substances during the school year.

Someone with a blood-alcohol content of 0.1 is considered legally drunk in the state of Washington. Bus drivers with a reading of .02 or above would face disciplinary action. The mildest discipline be suspension without pay for 24 hours.

“That’s well under the state requirement,” Dawson said.

A medical review officer independent of the district will determine whether a driver whose test shows controlled substance use has taken legal or illegal drugs.