CHAPTER 406
FORMERLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 584
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 AND 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING OF PUBLIC SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS AND THE ISSUANCE OF A SCHOOL BUS ENDORSEMENT TO DELAWARE DRIVER'S LICENSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE :
Section 1. Amend § 2910, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by deleting said Section in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"§ 2910. School bus drivers; drug and alcohol testing.
(a) In order to coordinate State and federal efforts to insure the safety of school children, the Department of Education is authorized to contract for a program of drug and alcohol testing services necessary to enable public school districts, charter schools, and any person or entity that contracts with a school district or charter school to provide transportation for State public school students, to comply with such drug and alcohol testing requirements applicable to Delaware public school bus drivers as are now, or may hereafter be, imposed by federal law. Testing services shall be provided at no cost to the bus driver's employer. The nature and extent of testing services to be provided shall be at the discretion of the Department of Education, but shall include pre-employment, reasonable suspicion, random and post-accident testing, for alcohol and controlled substances pursuant to the provisions of 49 U.S.C. § 31306 and the implementing regulations issued by the Secretary of Transportation of the United States pursuant thereto, as the same may from time to time subsequently be amended. In no event, shall the Department of Education be responsible for the provision of any post-testing services either to a bus driver or to the driver's employer except to cause the results of such testing to be provided to the driver and to the driver's employer.
(b) Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to impose any additional obligation upon the employer of a public school bus driver beyond those obligations otherwise imposed upon such employer by State or federal law, or pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated in accordance with Subsection (d) of this Section.
(c) No person shall operate a public school bus while not in compliance with the provisions of all federal drug and alcohol testing requirements relevant to the drivers of Delaware public school buses and any regulations adopted by the Department of Education pursuant to this Section.
(d) The Department of Education is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this Section including, without limitation, rules and regulations which:
(1) Require all employers of public school bus drivers in this State to participate in the testing program contracted for by the Department; and
(2) Require public school districts, charter schools and the employers of public school bus drivers to follow such procedures and to maintain such records as the Department deems necessary to insure that public school bus drivers are being tested in accordance with the provisions of federal drug and alcohol testing requirements.".
Section 2. Amend § 2708(a)(3), Title 21 of the Delaware Code by deleting said Subsection in its entirety.
Section 3. Amend § 2708(b), Title 21 of the Delaware Code by adding a new Subsection "(10)" thereto as follows:
"(10) Submit to a drug test, to be administered pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Department of Education, the results of which must be negative for controlled substances as defined by the provisions of 49 U.S.C. § 31306 and the implementing regulations issued by the Secretary of Transportation pursuant thereto unless the controlled substances have been ingested pursuant to a valid prescription or order of a practitioner while acting in the course of the practitioner's professional practice. Anyone testing positive to the drug test required in this paragraph shall have the right to request and pay for further analysis of their split sample, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Department of Education, to determine whether the result was a false positive or the controlled substance was ingested pursuant to a valid prescription or order of a practitioner wile acting in the course of the practitioner's practice. Refusal to submit to testing, which shall include the provision of a substituted or adulterated test sample, shall be deemed to be a positive test result under this Subsection.".
Section 4. This Act shall become effective upon the signature of the Governor.