New BCPS drug testing policy underway for students

Botetourt County Public Schools has implemented a new drug testing policy for students for the 2025-2026 school year. Assistant Superintendent Jordan Pinkard unveiled the policy in August.

The school system said they hope to reduce drug use and addiction with the new testing policy, which will randomly test students from JRHS, LBHS, CAMS, and RMMS. The testing will be held twice per VHSL season (fall, winter, and spring), and 5% of the pool of students eligible will be tested. The eligible pool includes students participating in sports, voluntary activities, and those who have parking passes. Pinkard said that about 250 students would be tested per year, and the ultimate goal was “prevention and rehabilitation.”

The school system has set aside $65,000 for funding and testing. Officials confirmed that an estimated $30,000 of the budget will be used directly towards testing. The remainder of the budget will be used for ancillary supports, some of which will include the services provided through mental health services company Intercept Health. The SAPP counselors assigned to the secondary schools are BCPS employees. Their services are not included in the referenced $65,000 budget.

School officials confirmed that the first round of testing had been completed as of Sept. 24, but declined to share results.

The policy defines voluntary activities as all interscholastic athletics designated by the Virginia High School League, all club sports sponsored by Botetourt County Schools, and competitive extracurricular activities in band, choir, FFA, FCCLA, DECA, and SkillsUSA. This would also include any activity that competes on a state level, including yearbook.

The testing will include a 10-panel plus alcohol and nicotine urinalysis, performed by an outside agency, Safety & Compliance Services, Inc. When randomly selected for testing, Pinkard said, “Administrators will discreetly pull those students from class, look for a private area, take the test, and then those results will be reported back.”

Pinkard explained the process after a student tests positive for the first time: “If they test positive for an opioid or THC or something of that nature, that student will be removed from all competitions for 14 calendar days, but in addition to that, they’ll also be enrolled with the SAPP (Student Assistance and Prevention Program) coordinator. But, during that time, we want their students to stay involved. They will be able to practice during that time period.”

Nicotine is an exception, with what is essentially a “strike-zero” policy. The student and their parent/guardian will be required to meet with the school administration, and the student must also participate in SAPP. No 14-day suspension will occur for this first nicotine-positive test.

BCPS detailed more about the SAPP program: Counselors meet with students individually or in small groups and progress through a series of 9 lessons. The lessons educate students on brain development, the effects of alcohol and drugs, and the continuum of use and abuse, while developing the student’s toolbox of skills in goal setting, decision making, stress management, and coping skills. Over the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school year, the recidivism rate (the rate at which documented reoffenses occur) for students who completed the lessons with BCPS SAPP counselors was less than 10%.

Pinkard explained after a second positive test: “The student will be involved with Intercept Health to provide some more intensive rehabilitation services through the True North program. And then in addition to that, they will be suspended from all practices and games for 60 days.”

When asked why BCPS selected Intercept Health Services, Pinkard stated, “Intercept/True North is one of the few providers in the area that has a program centered on substance use that is specifically designed for adolescents; therefore, their program was a good fit.”

The Botetourt Bee contacted Intercept’s Director of Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Services, Denise T. Yopp, who said this about their program: “we will first complete a Comprehensive ASAM (American Society of Addiction Medicine Assessment) with the student and their parent/guardian(s) to determine what the student’s needs are. From that assessment, a recommendation is made for that individual student for the services that appear to be best practice for their situation. The services we offer are individual counseling, one-hour substance use groups which focus on prevention and education (3 sessions to 12 sessions depending on need), or intensive outpatient substance use treatment (meets twice weekly – 3 hours per session for up to 24 weeks). … We have had success with the adolescents completing the recommended treatment program and moving on successfully.” 

Intercept/True North did not provide their recidivism rate.

Should a student test positive for a third time (fourth for nicotine), they will be suspended from all athletic and/or extracurricular activities and lose parking privileges for a period of 365 calendar days.