I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1735
To establish a grant program to enable local educational agencies to develop
and implement a random drug testing program for students in grades
7 through 12.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 6, 1999
Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. BARTON of Texas) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce
A BILL
To establish a grant program to enable local educational
agencies to develop and implement a random drug testing
program for students in grades 7 through 12.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Empowering Parents
to Fight Drugs Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. GRANT AUTHORIZATION.
(a) STATE GRANTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized
to provide grants to specially qualified agencies and
to State educational agencies for use by local edu-
cational agencies in the State to develop and imple-
ment a random drug testing program for students in
grades 7 through 12.
(2) STATE
APPLICATION.—Any State edu-
cational agency desiring to receive a grant under
this Act for any fiscal year shall submit an applica-
tion to the Secretary at such time and in such man-
ner as the Secretary may require.
(b) LOCAL SUBGRANTS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each State educational
agency that receives a grant award under this Act
shall award not less than 99.75 of such amount to
provide subgrants to local educational agencies.
(2) LOCAL
APPLICATION.—Each local edu-
cational agency desiring to receive a grant under
this Act for any fiscal year, other than a specially
qualified agency, shall submit an application to the
State at such time and in such manner as the State
may require.
SEC. 3. ALLOCATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) 
STATE
ALLOCATION.—After 
reserving
amounts for administrative costs in accordance with
subsection (b)(1), from the total amount appro-
priated under section 7 in any fiscal year, the Sec-
retary shall allocate to each State educational agen-
cy an amount that bears the same ratio to such total
amount as the number of students enrolled in grades
7 through 12 in such State in the preceding fiscal
year bears to the total number of such students for
all States for that fiscal year.
(2) 
LOCAL
ALLOCATION.—After 
reserving
amounts for administrative costs in accordance with
subsection (b)(2), of the amount made available to
the State under this Act in any fiscal year, the State
shall allocate to each local educational agency an
amount that bears the same ratio to such remaining
amount as the number of students enrolled in grades
7 through 12 in such agency bears to the total num-
ber of such students in all local educational agencies
in the State for that fiscal year.
(b) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS .—
(1) SECRETARY.—The Secretary may reserve
the lesser of $200,000 or 0.10 percent of the total
amount appropriated to carry out this Act in each
fiscal year for the costs of administration.
(2) STATE
EDUCATIONAL
AGENCIES.—Each
State educational agency may reserve not more than
0.25 percent of any grant funds received under this
Act in each fiscal year for the costs of administra-
tion.
(3) LOCAL
EDUCATIONAL
AGENCIES.—Each
local educational agency may reserve not more than
5 percent of any grant funds received under this Act
in each fiscal year for the costs of administration.
(c) DIRECT GRANTS
TO SPECIALLY
QUALIFIED
AGENCIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—If a State does not qualify
or apply for funds reserved for allocation under sub-
section (a)(1) by the application deadline established
by the Secretary, any specially qualified agency in
such State desiring to receive a grant under this Act
shall apply to the Secretary to receive a portion of
the amount allocated to the State.
(2) AWARD BASIS.—The Secretary may use the
average amount allocated by the States to local edu-
cational agencies under subsection (a)(2) as a basis
for awarding grants under this subsection.
(3) REALLOCATION.—Any funds remaining in a
fiscal year after the application of this subsection
shall be redistributed to States which have a re-
ceived a grant award under this Act for such fiscal
year.
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS AND OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational agency
that receives a grant under this Act, other than a specially
qualified agency, shall certify to the State educational
agency and each specially qualified agency shall certify to
the Secretary that—
(1) funds received under this Act shall be used
in accordance with subsection (b);
(2) the agency shall develop a plan to imple-
ment a random drug testing program;
(3) before implementation, any random drug
testing plan or subsequent amendment to such plan
shall be considered a public document and made
available to the public for review, not later than 30
days after such plan or amendment is available; and
(4) the agency shall provide, either directly or
through private contributions, non-Federal matching
funds equal to not less than 50 percent of the
amount of the grant to carry out this Act.
(b) USES OF FUNDS.—
(1) REQUIRED USES OF FUNDS.—A local edu-
cational agency that receives a grant under this Act
shall, either directly or through contract with outside
sources, provide for a random drug test of each stu-
dent in grades 7 through 12 not less than once each
year. Such test shall, at a minimum, include a drug
screening 
for 
marijuana, 
amphetamines,
phencyclidine (PCP), opiates, and cocaine.
(2) OPTIONAL USES OF FUNDS.—After a local
educational agency has complied with the require-
ments of paragraph (1), the agency may use any re-
maining funds available for the following:
(A) LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE.—To
contract with local law enforcement agencies to
assist in drug detection in schools, including the
use of drug sniffing dogs.
(B) ADDITIONAL TESTS.—To test students
more than once during a school year.
SEC. 5. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.
(a) REPORTING OF TEST RESULTS.—Each local edu-
cational agency that receives funds under this Act shall
inform parents in detail about the random testing pro-
gram and ensure that—
(1) at the beginning of each school year, par-
ents are notified of their right to withdraw their
child from participation in the random drug testing
program; and
(2) parents receive, on a timely basis, the posi-
tive results of any drug test of a child who partici-
pates in the program.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘medical review officer’’ means a
licensed physician (medical doctor or doctor of oste-
opathy) responsible for receiving laboratory results
generated by a local educational agency’s random
drug testing program who has knowledge of sub-
stance abuse disorders and has appropriate medical
training to interpret and evaluate a student’s con-
firmed positive test result together with the stu-
dent’s medical history and any other relevant bio-
medical information;
(2) the term ‘‘parent’’ includes a legal guardian
or other person standing in loco parentis;
(3) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of Education;
(4) the term ‘‘specially qualified agency’’ means
a local educational agency, located in a State that
did not receive a grant under this Act in a fiscal
year, that applies directly to the Secretary for a
grant in accordance with section 3(c) for such year;
and
(5) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands,
American Samoa, and Guam.