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Seaman USD 345 board votes to drop nicotine from random drug-testing program
Summary
The Seaman USD 345 Board voted to remove nicotine testing from its random student drug-testing program after administrators said data showed nicotine positives at about 0.5% and the tests were not yielding the intended deterrent effects.
The Seaman USD 345 Board voted to remove nicotine screening from its random student drug-testing program, approving an administrator recommendation after discussion about the program's effectiveness and costs.
School official Mr. Jones told the board the district's testing since 2021 showed "about half of 1% of students that have tested positive," and that each test cost $59. "We found no evidence that nicotine testing is producing the results that were intended," he said, recommending the district discontinue nicotine testing while continuing to test for illegal drugs.
Board members questioned consequences and supports tied to positive tests and whether partners were reliably available for interventions. Mr. Jones said positive students are referred to PARS for intervention when available, and that a positive test often led to similar consequences as other substances: loss of parking privileges and a 21-day first-time sanction unless a student self-reports. He also told the board the district's data suggested nicotine positives were mostly coming from off-campus use and that enforcement on campus (sensors and in-school interventions) would remain unchanged.
Members noted resource allocation concerns. Mr. Jones said removing nicotine from the testing panel would reduce the per-test cost by a modest amount but could save money across many tests. He also raised that other conference schools do not test for nicotine and that evolving family attitudes and inconsistent partner support weakened the program's deterrent effect.
After moving the recommendation to an action item and asking final clarifying questions, the board voted by voice/hand vote to approve the change. The motion carried.
The board did not alter on-campus disciplinary measures; administrators said vape sensors and standard disciplinary procedures remain in place. Board members asked to revisit related practices if data or partner capacity changes.
The action followed several presentations and broader discussion of student supports and district accountability. The change will be reflected in next year's handbook and enrollment materials if the timeline requires it.
