Joy v. Penn Harris Madison School Corp.
| Decision Date | 12 May 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 99-2261,PENN-HARRIS-MADISON,99-2261 |
| Citation | 212 F.3d 1052 |
| Parties | (7th Cir. 2000) TIANNA JOY, STEVEN WARD, MARCI STEPHENS, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v.SCHOOL CORPORATION, DOCTOR VICKIE MARKAVITCH, LARRY BEEHLER, et al., Defendants-Appellees |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division. No. 98 C 604--Allen Sharp, Judge. [Copyrighted Material Omitted]
Before FLAUM, RIPPLE and ROVNER, Circuit Judges.
Students at Penn High School1 brought this suit against the Penn- Harris-Madison School Corporation ("PHM" or "the School") for violating their Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. This claim arises from PHM's policy that allows for random, suspicionless drug testing of students involved in extracurricular activities and of students driving to school. The district court granted summary judgment for the School on both issues based on this circuit's precedent of Todd v. Rush County Schools, 133 F.3d 984 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 824 (1998), in which the court allowed suspicionless drug testing of students participating in extracurricular activities. The plaintiffs appealed.
In 1998, PHM instituted a drug testing policy for its students. The policy, School Board Policy 360: Student Testing for Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco, explains its purpose as follows:
The use of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs presents a threat to the safety, health and welfare of both our employees and our students. Because of the risks associated with such abuse, the board is implementing a student testing program for drugs, alcohol and tobacco. R.21, Ex.1 at 1. The policy focuses on five groups of students for drug testing and defines the groups as follows:
1. All students that participate in extracurricular activities. Activities will include all athletic teams, music groups, academic competitions, clubs and organizations. A full listing of activities will be provided. These students will be part of a pool of students that will be randomly selected for testing.
2. All students who drive to school. These students will also be part of the random pool.
3. All students and staff who volunteer to be part of the random pool.
4. All students who are suspended from school for three consecutive days for student misconduct or substantial disobedience. These students must submit to a drug test before being allowed to return to school.
5. All students for which there is a reasonable suspicion of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol must submit to a mandatory test.
Id. Members of the first two groups are the Plaintiffs-Appellants in this case.2
In its policy, the School states that extracurricular activities are a privilege, not a right. Also, the School explains, students participating in those activities assume greater responsibility and make certain sacrifices. These students, the policy states, are required to submit to random testing for drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
All students in extracurricular activities must attend at least one drug education session before beginning the activity, and all students in extracurricular activities will receive a copy of the policy. Also, each participant shall sign and return a consent form that allows the School to conduct the drug testing. The consent form must be signed by the student and by a parent or guardian and must be returned to the School prior to the student's participation in the extracurricular activity. Failure to return the consent form results in nonparticipation in the activity.
Next, PHM's policy discusses student drivers. To receive a permit to park on school grounds, a student must pay $15.00 and provide proof of a valid driver's license. The policy explains that these students and their passengers are at a substantial risk for injury when operating vehicles under the influence of intoxicants. Also, according to the policy, "Studies indicate that young drivers have a greater risk of being involved in vehicular accidents caused by consumption of intoxicants." R.21, Ex.1 at 2. PHM partly based its determination to test student drivers on a newspaper article detailing a serious car accident involving two Penn High School students who had been drinking. The other basis for its policy for student drivers was several articles about high school students under the influence of alcohol who were involved in car accidents. Based on this data and the important policy interest of protecting student drivers and their passengers, PHM requires that students driving to and from school and other activities sponsored by PHM "must submit to the same random urinalysis as participants in athletics or extracurricular activities." Id. at 2-3. That means that students driving to school are subject to random testing for the presence of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Student drivers also must sign the consent form before receiving a parking permit, and, presumably, a student who does not return the consent form will not receive a parking permit.3
Students who refuse to take the drug test are deemed to have admitted they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, which is a violation of school rules. The student "will be dealt with according to the student discipline policy or student extra-curricular code of conduct." R.21, Ex.1 at 5. Similarly, a positive test result will validate usage, and the consequences of validated usage "will coincide with the consequences outlined in the student handbook and school policy." R.21, Ex.1 at 5. What consequence applies is ambiguous. The section in the student handbook entitled "Policy on Alcohol and Other Drugs" discusses protecting students and prohibiting drug use. A student under the influence of alcohol or other drugs on school grounds or at school sponsored activities will be disciplined, and the discipline could result in suspension or expulsion.4 Use or possession of tobacco products is not permitted on school grounds and discovery of these will result in suspension from school.5
Another section, the section pertaining to student athletics and activities, also discusses the use or possession of drugs and alcohol. For drug or alcohol use, the first in-season offense will result in expulsion from the team or activity. The first out-of-season offense will result in a meeting that reviews the penalty and the guideline for future participation in the activity. A second violation, in-season or out- of-season, will result in expulsion from participation in all athletics and activities for one school calender year. For the use of tobacco, in any form, the first in-season offense will result in probation for one school calender year for all athletics or activities in which the student might participate. Also, the student will be subject to any penalties given by the office of student affairs. The second in-season offense will result in expulsion from the team for the remainder of the season.
The section governing student drivers only states that "Abuse of a student's driving privileges will result in the forfeiture of the parking permit and may result in further school discipline." R.29, Ex.C at 3. The consequences for a student driver over 18 whose test results reveal the presence of nicotine are not mentioned.
David Wade Risner, Director of Pupil Personnel at PHM, developed and implemented the drug testing policy. In his deposition, he averred that students participating in extracurricular activities and student drivers, if receiving a positive test result, may be subject to exclusion from any extracurricular activities and/or to revocation of parking privileges. However, he claims that they will not be subject to suspension, expulsion, or any discipline in connection with the academic school day for receiving a positive test result. See R.37 at 2.
The policy also discusses the testing procedure. Students are selected on a random basis without advance notice. First, they fill out paperwork and list any over-the-counter or prescription medications that they are taking. Next, they remove all outer garments and leave all bags and purses outside the collection facility. Then they are asked to wash their hands with water only, and the collector checks the stall visually for anything unusual, flushes the toilet, and treats the water with dye. While the student is producing the sample, the collector remains outside the facility and notes any unusual circumstance, behavior, or appearance of the student or of the specimen. Also, the collector checks the specimen for signs of contamination and notes the temperature of the bottle. Both the student and the collector sign the chain-of- custody form.
The test checks for the presence of alcohol, nicotine, and any drug listed as a controlled substance. The results will be provided to the designated school official who always shares the results with the student's parents. For the first and second positive test, the result is shared with the parents and an attempt is made to provide evaluation and/or treatment. For the third positive test, the parents are required to pay for the test. Again, the results are shared with the parents and the school, and an attempt is made to provide evaluation and/or treatment.
As to confidentiality, the policy states that the results will always be shared with the student and a parent or guardian. Thereafter, information regarding the positive test result will be shared on a "need to know" basis with school staff. Under the program, any staff member, employee, coach, or sponsor of PHM with knowledge of a student's positive test result shall not reveal the information to anyone other than the student or the parents unless under order of a court.
As mentioned above, several PHM students filed suit against...
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