Outline of the state of Louisiana
State
Louisiana
Encourages referral to treatment

Category
Alcohol and Drug-use Prohibitions or Restrictions

Category
Alcohol and Drug-use Prohibitions or Restrictions

State law prohibits the sale, possession, or use of alcohol or controlled substances and encourages districts to refer students to treatment or offer “safe harbor” immunity from disciplinary action when students seek help for substance use disorders.

Louisiana Administrative Code 28 CXV 1133. Substance Abuse

A. Any school employee having reasonable cause to believe that a student possesses a controlled dangerous substance or an alcoholic beverage on a school campus shall report such fact to the principal of the school.

    1. If a Substance Abuse Prevention Education (SAPE) team exists within the school, the principal shall forward the report to the chairperson of the team.
    1. If the report has been given to the team directly or if the report has been forwarded to the team by the principal, the team shall discuss the circumstances of the report with the student reported without disclosing the name of the reporting person and shall meet with the parents of the student reported.
    1. The team shall report to the principal of the school and make recommendations for treatment, counseling, or other appropriate action.

B. Any school employee having factual knowledge that a student has manufactured, distributed, or possessed with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance shall report such fact to the principal of the school who, upon finding that there is reasonable cause to believe that the student has manufactured, distributed, or possessed with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance, shall report such information to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

C. Any person who makes a report in good faith, pursuant to substance abuse, shall have immunity from civil liability that otherwise might be incurred. Such immunity shall extend to testimony in any judicial proceeding resulting from such report. NOTE: See § 1127.

Policy Type
Regulation

Louisiana Administrative Code 28 CXV 1305. Reasons for Suspension

A. School principals may suspend from school any student, including an exceptional student, for good cause in accordance with state law and local policy. B. Students determined to be guilty of the following offenses may be suspended for the following reasons:

  1. willful disobedience;
  2. disrespect to a teacher, principal, superintendent, and/or member or employee of the local school board;
  3. making an unfounded charge against a teacher, principal, superintendent, and/or member or employee of the local school board;
  4. using unchaste or profane language;
  5. immoral or vicious practices;
  6. conduct or habits injurious to his/her associates;
  7. using tobacco and/or using and possessing alcoholic beverages or any controlled dangerous substances governed by the Uniformed Controlled Dangerous Substance Law in any form in school buildings or on school grounds.
Policy Type
Regulation

Louisiana Administrative Code 28 CXV 1307. Reasons for Expulsions

A. Students may be expelled for any of the following reasons:

  1. any student, after being suspended for committing any of the offenses listed in § 1305., may be expelled upon recommendation by the principal of the public school in which the student is enrolled;
  2. any student, after being suspended on three occasions for committing drugs or weapons offenses during the same school session, shall, on committing the fourth offense, be expelled from all the public schools of the parish or city school system wherein he or she resides until the beginning of the next regular school year, subject to the review and approval of the local educational governing authority. [...] 5. any student in grades six and up found guilty of being in possession of any illegal narcotic, drug, or other controlled substance on school property, on a school bus, or at a school event shall be expelled from school according to the requirements of R.S. 17:416(C)(2).
Policy Type
Regulation

Louisiana Administrative Code 28 CXV 1309. Guidelines for Expulsions

B. Any student who has been expelled from any public or nonpublic school within or outside the state of Louisiana for one of the reasons listed below shall produce documentation that he or she and his/her parent or legal guardian have enrolled in and participated in an appropriate rehabilitation or counseling program related to the reason(s) for the expulsion prior to being admitted or readmitted on a probationary basis to any public school in the state, unless such requirement is waived by the LEA:

  1. possessing on school property or on a school bus a firearm, knife, or other dangerous weapon, or instrumentality customarily used or intended for probable use as a dangerous weapon; or
  2. possessing with intent to distribute, or distributing, selling, giving, or loaning while on school property or on a school bus any controlled dangerous substance governed by the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law.
Policy Type
Regulation

Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:403.1. Substance abuse in schools; definitions; confidential reports; immunity; penalty.

A. The purpose of this Section is to protect teachers, administrators, school support personnel, and employees of the public school systems of this state from liability for damages as a result of reporting substance abuse on school campuses. It is intended that as a result of such reporting, the children attending schools in this state shall not be exposed to substance abuse while on campus, and law enforcement shall be aided in efforts to eradicate substance abuse by students. B. For the purposes of this Section, the following terms shall mean: (1) “Person” is any employee of a public school system including, but not limited to, teachers, administrators, school bus drivers, janitors, lunch room workers, maintenance employees, and coaches of athletic teams. (2) “Student” is any person enrolled at school, including any person so enrolled but on temporary suspension, and any person physically on campus, whether a student or non-student. (3) “School” is any public elementary or secondary school in the state of Louisiana. (4) “Campus” is all facilities and property within the boundary of the school property and all vehicles used for public transportation of students. (5) “Controlled dangerous substance” is any substance regulated or defined in the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substance Law, Part X, Chapter IV of Title 40 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, except where prescribed by a physician and possessed and consumed by the person for whom prescribed. (6) “Substance Abuse Prevention Team,” hereafter sometimes referred to as “the team,” is a panel of not less than six members consisting of at least one (a) administrator, (b) teacher, (c) guidance counselor, (d) parent representative, and (e) school support person. The team shall be trained by personnel from the Substance Abuse Prevention Education Program of the Louisiana Department of Education. In the absence of the availability of a team trained by personnel from the Substance Abuse Prevention Education Program, the principal of a school may establish a substantially similar panel which shall be considered a substance abuse prevention team. C. (1) Any person having reasonable cause to believe that a student possesses a controlled dangerous substance or an alcoholic beverage on a school campus, under circumstances other than those described in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, shall report such fact to the principal of the school or to the chairman of the Substance Abuse Prevention Team on a report form prepared by the Department of Education or on a substantially similar form. If the report is to the principal, the principal immediately shall forward it to the chairman of the team. The team shall discuss the circumstances of the report with the student reported without disclosing the name of the reporting person and shall also meet with the parents of the student reported. The team shall thereafter report to the principal of the school and make recommendations for treatment, counselling, or other appropriate action. (2) Any person having factual knowledge that a student has manufactured, distributed, or possessed with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance shall report such fact to the principal of the school who, upon a finding that there is reasonable cause to believe that the student has manufactured, distributed, or possessed with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance, shall report such information to the appropriate law enforcement agency. If the principal determines that there are reasonable grounds to believe the student possessed a controlled dangerous substance but did not manufacture, distribute, or possess with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance, he shall refer the matter to the Substance Abuse Prevention Team chairman. (3) The report required in Paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Subsection shall be written and shall include the name of the person making the report, the name of the student suspected of committing the act so reported, and the specific incident which caused the reporting person to believe the act had occurred. Sufficient detail shall be included to allow the report to be adequately reviewed. When appropriate, the report shall include a behavioral profile of the student since his enrollment in class. D. (1) The provisions of Subsection C of this Section shall not preclude any person from making a report of conduct to a law enforcement agency when that person has reasonable cause to believe that the manufacture or distribution of a controlled dangerous substance has taken or is taking place and that delay would jeopardize or impair the ability to control the manufacture or distribution of a controlled dangerous substance on a campus. (2) The provisions of Subsection C of this Section shall not preclude any person from making a report of conduct to a law enforcement agency when that person has reasonable cause to believe that a student on campus is under the influence of alcoholic beverages and that delay would jeopardize or impair the ability to operate the school or result in the student’s being a danger to himself or others. (3) A law enforcement agency receiving a report under the provisions of this Subsection may conduct an investigation of the report. Such investigation may include the administering, upon the school grounds and after consent has been obtained from student’s parent or legal tutor, of a breath or urine test for the presence of alcohol or a controlled dangerous substance, if the investigating officer has reasonable cause to believe the student is or recently was on campus while under the influence of alcoholic beverages or a controlled dangerous substance. The methods for the administration and analysis of a breath or urine test under the provisions of this Subsection shall be the same as for chemical testing and analysis authorized under R.S. 32:663. The results of a breath or urine test authorized under this Subsection shall be provided solely to the student, the parent or legal tutor of the student, the principal of the school, and the chairman of the Substance Abuse Prevention Team, and shall not be used as the basis for any disciplinary proceeding against the student. The law enforcement agency may keep a copy of the test results which copy shall not be a public record and shall not be open for public inspection but shall be kept confidential under lock and key and maintained only for internal record keeping purposes to preserve the integrity of said agency’s files and shall not be used for any investigative purpose. The test results shall be exempt from the Public Records Act 1Link to the text of the note and shall not be admissible as evidence in any civil or criminal trial, hearing, or other proceeding.

Policy Type
Statute

Louisiana Revised Statutes 17:404. Establishment of programs of substance abuse.

D. Any minor who is a student enrolled in any public or private elementary, secondary, vocational-technical, training, special school or institution in Louisiana who is identified as having a substance abuse problem or who is involved in the production, manufacture, possession, distribution, or dispension of any controlled dangerous substance shall be required to participate in the school drug counseling program as provided in this Section in addition to any other penalties as provided by law. However, nothing herein shall prevent the student from participating in any other drug counseling program in lieu of the one in his school, provided such program is approved by the school system.

Policy Type
Statute

Louisiana Revised Statutes 17:416 Discipline of students; suspension; expulsion

C. (3)(a) Any student arrested for possession of, or intentional distribution of, or possession with intent to distribute any illegal narcotic, drug, or other controlled substance on school property shall be referred by the school principal or his designee, within five days after such arrest, for testing or screening by a qualified medical professional for evidence of abuse of alcohol, illegal narcotics, drugs, or other controlled dangerous substances. (b) If evidence of abuse is found, the student shall be referred to an alcohol and drug abuse treatment professional chosen by the student’s parent or tutor. If the student is found by the professional to be in need of treatment, and if the student agrees to cooperate in the recommended treatment, as certified in writing by the medical professional, such documentation may be used to initiate reopening the student’s case. The school board shall take into consideration the student’s agreement to receive treatment as a positive factor in the final decision relative to any final disciplinary action. Source: Louisiana State Legislature A. (3)(a) A school principal may suspend from school or suspend from riding on any school bus any student who: (i) Is guilty of willful disobedience. (ii) Treats a teacher, principal, superintendent, member, or employee of the local school board with intentional disrespect. (iii) Makes against any one of them an unfounded charge. (iv) Uses unchaste or profane language. (v) Is guilty of immoral or vicious practices, or of conduct or habits injurious to his associates. * (vi) Uses tobacco or who possesses alcoholic beverages or any controlled dangerous substance governed by the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law, in any form, in school buildings, on school grounds, or on school buses owned by, contracted to, or jointly owned by any city or parish school board. Source: Louisiana State Legislature

Policy Type
Statute