[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 98 (Monday, May 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29321-29325]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-7749]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

RIN 1865-ZA03


Grants for School-Based Student Drug-Testing Programs

AGENCY: Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed priority, eligibility and application 
requirements, and selection criteria.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools 
proposes a priority, eligibility and application requirements, and 
selection criteria under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities 
National Programs for the School-Based Student Drug-Testing Programs 
grant program. The Assistant Deputy Secretary may use the priority, 
requirements, and selection criteria for competitions in fiscal year 
2006 and later years. We take this action to focus Federal financial 
assistance on an identified national need. We intend for the priority, 
requirements, and selection criteria to contribute substantially to 
existing knowledge about the efficacy of mandatory random student drug 
testing as a means of deterring student drug use.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before June 21, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about the priority, requirements, and 
selection criteria to Robyn L. Disselkoen, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E251, Washington, DC 20202-
6450. If you prefer to send your comments through the Internet, use the 
following address: [email protected].
    You must include the term ``Comments on 2006 Student Drug-Testing 
Notice'' in the subject line of your electronic message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robyn Disselkoen at (202) 260-3954.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Invitation to Comment

    We invite you to submit comments regarding the proposed priority, 
requirements, and selection criteria. To ensure that your comments have 
maximum effect in developing the notice of final priority, eligibility 
and application requirements, and selection criteria, we urge you to 
identify clearly the specific priority, requirement, or selection 
criterion that each comment addresses.
    We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific 
requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of 
reducing regulatory burden that might result from the proposed 
priority, requirements, and selection criteria. Please let us know of 
any further opportunities we should take to reduce potential costs or 
increase potential benefits while preserving the effective and 
efficient administration of the program.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about the proposed priority, requirements, and selection 
criteria in room 3E251, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington DC, 
between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Washington, DC time, Monday 
through Friday of each week except Federal holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Rulemaking 
Record

    On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or 
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs 
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public 
rulemaking record for the proposed priority, requirements, and 
selection criteria. If you want to schedule an appointment

[[Page 29322]]

for this type of aid, please contact the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Background

    Although drug use among America's youth has declined in recent 
years, far too many young people continue to use these harmful 
substances. Results of the 2005 Monitoring the Future survey, for 
example, show that in the 12 months prior to the survey, 15.2 percent 
of 8th-grade students, 31.1 percent of 10th-grade students, and 38.8 
percent of 12th-grade students indicated that they had used illicit 
drugs. (Johnston, L.D., O'Malley, P.M., Bachman, J.G., & Schulenberg, 
J.E. (2005). Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 
1975-2004. Volume I: Secondary school students (NIH Publication No. 05-
5727). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse, p. 201).
    The consequences of drug use by this vulnerable population are 
clear. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 
students who use illegal drugs are more likely than students who do not 
use illegal drugs to have negative attitudes about school and to have 
demonstrated the following delinquent behaviors: Engaged in a serious 
fight at school or work, attacked someone with the intent to inflict 
serious injury, carried a handgun, sold illegal drugs, or stole or 
tried to steal something worth $50 or more. (Results from the 2002 
National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings [DHHS 
Publication No. SMa 03-3836 NSDUH Series H-22] Rockville, MD: Substance 
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration).
    The National Drug Control Strategy, issued by the Office of 
National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in February 2006, (http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/policy/ndcs06/ndcs06.pdf) 
notes: ``The greatest pressure on young people to start using drugs 
does not come from drug pushers but from their peers. It is, therefore, 
important to continue to educate young people about the dangers of drug 
use and build a cultural norm that views illicit drug use as 
unacceptable.'' An important part of promoting a culture that supports 
healthy, drug-free choices by young people requires providing 
disincentives to using drugs. According to the Strategy: ``Screening 
for drugs is an important way to send the message that drug use is 
unacceptable. * * * Screening for drug use gives young people an `out' 
to say no to drugs.''
    Several recent studies have contributed to a growing body of 
knowledge about the potential effectiveness of drug testing in 
deterring drug use by youth. None of these studies, however, has 
employed a randomized control trial, the type of research design needed 
to make a valid determination of whether mandatory random student drug 
testing deters drug use.
    Therefore, the U.S. Department of Education (ED), through these 
grants to reduce student drug use, proposes to conduct the first large-
scale national evaluation of the effectiveness of mandatory random 
student drug testing using a randomized control trial study design.

Description of the National Evaluation

    All schools proposed by applicants funded under this priority will 
participate in the national evaluation.\1\ These schools will be 
randomly assigned by the national evaluation contractor to one of two 
conditions: (1) Implement mandatory random student drug testing 
immediately after the baseline student survey to be conducted by the 
national evaluator in early 2007; or (2) not promote or implement 
mandatory random student drug testing at any time until the conclusion 
of the data collection for the national evaluation in spring 2008.
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    \1\ ED's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) will award a 
contract to conduct a national evaluation to assess the impact of 
mandatory random student drug testing on two populations of 
interest: (1) Students who participate in athletics and/or 
competitive extra-curricular activities; and (2) students who do not 
participate in these activities.
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    In all participating schools, for each round of data collection, up 
to 200 students will participate in confidential and anonymous surveys 
about substance use conducted by the national evaluator. These student 
surveys, which will support the national evaluation, will be conducted 
in spring 2007 (before drug testing begins in any school), in fall 
2007, and in spring 2008. During this period, the national evaluator 
will also collect other evaluation information through staff 
interviews.
    In addition, the national evaluator will administer student surveys 
in school years 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 in order to collect data to 
fulfill ED's requirement that grantees report annually on the 
Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) performance measures 
established for this program. Grantees will have no responsibility for 
evaluating their program or for collecting data and reporting on GPRA. 
For that reason, and because the work of the national evaluator is 
subject to the IES confidentiality statutes (20 U.S.C. 9573), which 
provide for an exemption of Protection of Human Subjects regulations 
(34 CFR 97.101(b)(3)(ii)), ED does not believe grantees need to seek 
approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB).
    Approximately one month after the early 2007 student survey is 
completed, the evaluator will notify grantees of the random assignment 
status of each school to either the first or the second wave of 
implementation. Schools assigned to the first wave of implementation 
will begin conducting mandatory random student drug testing immediately 
(spring 2007). After completion of the spring 2008 student survey, 
schools assigned to the second wave of implementation may begin 
mandatory random student drug testing.
    We will announce the final priority, requirements, and selection 
criteria in a notice in the Federal Register. We will determine the 
final priority, requirements, and selection criteria after considering 
responses to this notice and other information available to ED. This 
notice does not preclude us from proposing or using other priorities, 
requirements, and selection criteria subject to meeting applicable 
rulemaking requirements.

    Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in 
which we choose to use the priority, we invite applications through 
a notice in the Federal Register. When inviting applications, we 
designate the priority as absolute, competitive preference, or 
invitational. The effect of each type of priority follows:
    Absolute priority: Under an absolute priority we consider only 
applications that meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)).
    Competitive preference priority: Under a competitive preference 
priority we give competitive preference to an application by either 
(1) awarding additional points, depending on how well or the extent 
to which the application meets the competitive priority (34 CFR 
75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2) selecting an application that meets the 
competitive priority over an application of comparable merit that 
does not meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(ii)).
    Invitational priority: Under an invitational priority we are 
particularly interested in applications that meet the invitational 
priority. However, we do not give an application that meets the 
invitational priority a competitive or absolute preference over 
other applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).

Proposed Priority

    Participation in Evaluation of Mandatory Random Student Drug-
Testing Programs
    Under this proposed priority, we will support local educational 
agencies (LEAs) that agree to participate in a

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national evaluation of the impact of mandatory random student drug 
testing on high school students' reported substance use. In order to 
meet this priority an applicant must:
    (1) Agree to carry out its drug-testing program in a manner 
consistent with the randomized control trial evaluation design 
developed by ED and its national evaluator;
    (2) Propose at least two schools with three or more grades 9 
through 12 to participate in the national evaluation;
    (3) Not have an existing drug-testing program in operation in any 
of the schools proposed by the applicant for participation in the 
national evaluation;
    (4) Consent to the evaluator's random assignment of one-half of the 
schools proposed by the applicant for participation in the national 
evaluation to begin mandatory random student drug-testing 
implementation in year one of the grant (following the spring 2007 
survey of students), and one-half to begin mandatory random student 
drug testing approximately one year later (after the spring 2008 survey 
of students has been completed);
    (5) Agree that the schools proposed by the applicant for 
participation in the national evaluation will limit their mandatory 
random student drug-testing program to students in grades 9 through 12, 
and within that group of students to one or both of the following:
    (a) All students who participate in the school's athletic program; 
and
    (b) All students who are engaged in competitive, extra-curricular 
school-sponsored activities;


    Note: Competitive, extra-curricular school-sponsored activities 
means any activity under the direct control of the school in which 
students compete against students in another school. If the State 
maintains a list of sanctioned competitive, extra-curricular school-
sponsored activities, the applicant may consider those activities to 
be competitive, extra-curricular school-sponsored activities for the 
purposes of this program.

    (6) Not promote or begin the implementation of its mandatory random 
student drug-testing program in any participating schools until it 
receives notification from the national evaluator about the random 
assignment of its schools to participate in the first or second wave of 
implementation, except that an applicant may conduct outreach and 
generate community support for its drug-testing policy;
    (7) Delay the promotion, announcement, and start of the mandatory 
random student drug-testing program in schools assigned to the second 
wave of implementation until the spring 2008 student survey has been 
completed;
    (8) Cooperate with evaluation data collection activities, including 
facilitating the national evaluator's efforts to obtain parental 
consent for student participation in the surveys, by providing contact 
information and scheduling and making available space for the 
administration of the surveys in the schools; and
    (9) Implement its mandatory random student drug-testing program 
consistently across participating schools and according to uniform LEA 
policies and procedures during the evaluation period.
    Once a participating school has begun implementing its mandatory 
random student drug-testing program in accordance with the requirements 
of this priority, and following the completion of the spring 2008 
student survey, the LEA at its discretion, may announce, promote, 
implement and use grant funds for testing--
    (a) In schools assigned to the second wave of implementation;
    (b) Students in any grade 6 through 12 who, along with their parent 
or guardian, volunteer to be tested; and
    (c) Students in grades 6 through 8 who participate in the school's 
athletic programs or competitive, extra-curricular school-sponsored 
activities.
    Proposed Eligibility and Application Requirements: We propose the 
following eligibility requirements for applications submitted under 
this program:
    (1) LEAs are the only eligible applicants; and
    (2) An applicant may not have been the recipient of, or a 
participant in, a grant in 2005 under ED's School-Based Grants for 
Student Drug-Testing competition (84.184D).
    We propose the following requirements for applications submitted 
under this program:
    (1) An applicant may not submit more than one application for a 
grant under the competition.
    (2) In its application, an applicant must:
    (a) Clearly identify the student population that will be in the 
drug-testing pool including, to the extent feasible, the number of 
students in the pool by grade, and demonstrate a significant need for 
drug testing within the target population;
    (b) Propose to test a minimum of 50 percent of the testing pool 
annually, and use at least a five-panel test (marijuana, amphetamine, 
cocaine, methamphetamine, and opiates);
    (c) Explain how the proposed drug-testing program will be part of 
an existing, comprehensive drug prevention program in the schools to be 
served;
    (d) Provide a comprehensive plan for referring students who are 
identified through the testing program as users of illegal drugs or 
legal medications taken without a prescription to a student assistance 
program, counseling, or drug treatment if necessary;
    (e) Provide a plan to ensure the confidentiality of drug-testing 
results, including a provision that prohibits the party conducting drug 
tests from disclosing to school officials any information about a 
student's use of legal medications for which the student has a 
prescription;
    (f) Provide written assurances of the following:
    (i) That results of student drug tests will not be disclosed to law 
enforcement officials;
    (ii) That results of student drug tests will be destroyed when the 
student graduates or otherwise leaves the LEA or private school 
involved;
    (iii) That all positive drug tests will be reviewed by a certified 
medical review officer;
    (iv) That legal counsel has reviewed the proposed drug-testing 
program and advised that the program activities do not appear to 
violate established constitutional principles or State and Federal 
requirements related to implementing a mandatory random student drug-
testing program;
    (v) That all proposed activities will be carried out in accordance 
with the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act 
(FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA);
    (vi) That the mandatory random student drug-testing program is 
ready to begin no later than 9 months after receipt of the grant award. 
We will consider a grantee's failure to achieve readiness to begin its 
program within 9 months of the grant award as a failure to make 
substantial progress consistent with the requirements of the Education 
Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in Sec.  
75.253(2)(i). This failure could result in loss of funding for year two 
of the project period or termination of the grant;
    (vii) That mandatory random student drug testing will be conducted 
for the entire academic year in the schools selected to implement drug 
testing; and
    (viii) That, to the extent feasible, schools randomly assigned to 
begin drug testing in year one of the grant will retain the same 
testing pool (for example, all students participating in athletics and/
or all students participating in competitive,

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extracurricular school-sponsored activities without regard to the 
timing of their activity) until the completion of the 2008 student 
survey.
    (3) Funds awarded under this program may not be used for any of the 
following purposes:
    (a) Student drug tests administered under suspicion of drug use;
    (b) Incentives for students to participate in the drug-testing 
program;
    (c) Drug treatment;
    (d) Drug prevention curricula or other prevention programs;
    (e) Drug tests for students in non-competitive extra-curricular 
activities who do not otherwise meet the eligibility criteria;
    (f) Drug tests for students in co-curricular activities who do not 
otherwise meet the eligibility criteria; or
    (g) Drug tests for student drivers who park on campus who do not 
otherwise meet the eligibility criteria.

Proposed Selection Criteria

    The Secretary proposes to select from the following criteria those 
factors that will be used to evaluate applications under this 
competition.
    (1) Need for Project. (a) The documented magnitude of student drug 
use in schools to be served by the mandatory random student drug-
testing program, including the nature, type, and frequency, if known, 
of drug use by students in the target population; and,
    (b) Other evidence, if any, of student drug use in schools to be 
served by the mandatory random student drug-testing program, which may 
include, but is not limited to, reports from parents, students, school 
staff, or law enforcement officials.
    (2) Significance. (a) The extent to which the proposed project 
includes a thorough, high-quality review of Federal and State laws and 
relevant Supreme Court decisions related to the proposed student drug-
testing program.
    (b) The extent to which the applicant demonstrates school and 
community support for the student drug-testing program and has obtained 
the input of groups representing a diversity of perspectives, for 
example, private schools, parents, counselors, teachers, and school 
board members, in the development of the mandatory random student drug-
testing program; and
    (c) The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely 
to be attained by the mandatory random student drug-testing program in 
the grantee's schools.
    (3) Quality of Project Design. (a) The extent to which the project 
will be based on up-to-date knowledge from research and effective 
practice, including the methodology for the random selection of 
students to be tested and procedures outlining the collection, 
screening, confirmation, and review of student drug tests by a 
certified medical review officer.
    (b) The quality of the applicant's plan to develop and implement a 
mandatory random student drug-testing program that includes--
    (i) Evidence of the applicant's readiness to begin mandatory random 
student drug testing in the first year of the grant; and
    (ii) Detailed procedures outlining how the school will respond to a 
student's positive drug test, including parental notification and 
referral to student assistance programs, drug education, or formal drug 
treatment, if necessary.
    (4) Management Plan. (a) The extent to which the applicant 
describes appropriate chain-of-custody procedures for test samples and 
demonstrates a commitment to use labs certified by the U.S. Department 
of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration to process student drug tests.
    (b) The quality of the applicant's plan to ensure confidentiality 
of drug test results, including limiting the number of school officials 
who will have access to student drug-testing records.
    (5) Adequacy of resources. The adequacy of support from the 
applicant, including project staff, facilities, equipment, supplies, 
and other resources necessary to implement a high-quality mandatory 
random student drug-testing program.

Executive Order 12886

    This notice of proposed priority, eligibility and application 
requirements, and selection criteria has been reviewed in accordance 
with Executive Order 12866. Under the terms of the order, we have 
assessed the potential costs and benefits of this regulatory action.
    The potential costs associated with the notice of proposed 
priority, eligibility and application requirements, and selection 
criteria are those we have determined as necessary for administering 
this program effectively and efficiently.
    In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative 
and qualitative--of this notice of proposed priority, eligibility and 
application requirements, and selection criteria, we have determined 
that the benefits of the proposed priority, requirements, and selection 
criteria justify the costs.
    We have also determined that this regulatory action does not unduly 
interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the exercise of 
their governmental functions.

Summary of Potential Costs and Benefits

    The potential cost associated with the proposed priority, 
requirements, and selection criteria is minimal while the benefits are 
significant. Grantees may anticipate costs related to engaging the 
community in discussions about the utility of mandatory random student 
drug testing as a means of deterring youth drug use and in developing 
and gaining approval for a comprehensive policy supporting mandatory 
random student drug testing and establishing consistent policies and 
procedures. Other potential costs are those associated with completing 
the application process in terms of staff time, copying, and mailing or 
delivery.
    The primary benefit of the proposed priority, requirements, and 
selection criteria is that grantees may reduce student drug use by 
supporting school-based mandatory random student drug-testing programs. 
In addition, participation in the national evaluation means grantees 
will not have to conduct an independent evaluation of their project nor 
will they have to report to the Department on their progress toward 
meeting the GPRA measures established for this program. All data 
collection and evaluation will be carried out by the national evaluator 
on behalf of the grantees and reported to the Department.

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is subject to Executive Order 12372 and the 
regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of the objectives of the Executive 
order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened 
federalism. The Executive order relies on processes developed by State 
and local governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal 
financial assistance.
    This document provides early notification of our specific plans and 
actions for this program.

Electronic Access To This Document

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: 
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
    To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO) toll free at (888)

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293-6498; or in the Washington, DC area at (202) 512-1530.


    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html.


(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.184D Office of 
Safe and Drug-Free Schools National Programs -Grants for School-
Based Student Drug-Testing Programs)

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7131.

    Dated: May 17, 2006.
Deborah A. Price,
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools.
 [FR Doc. E6-7749 Filed 5-19-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P