School districts; require drug testing of students suspended for disciplinary infractions.

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To: Education
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Scott

HOUSE BILL NO. 176

AN ACT TO REQUIRE DRUG TESTING OF PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS IN 1
GRADES SIX THROUGH TWELVE WHO HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED; TO DECLARE 2
LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS RELATING TO STUDENT DRUG USAGE AND THE 3
PURPOSES OF THIS ACT; TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS USED UNDER THE ACT; 4
TO REQUIRE EACH LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD TO ADOPT A POLICY REQUIRING 5
DRUG TESTING STUDENTS IN GRADES SIX THROUGH TWELVE WHO ARE 6
SUSPENDED FOR DISCIPLINARY INFRACTIONS AND TO PRESCRIBE CERTAIN 7
COMPONENTS THAT MUST BE IN THE POLICY, INCLUDING A PROVISION 8
REQUIRING A STUDENT'S PARENT TO PAY THE COST OF THE DRUG TEST; TO 9
PROVIDE FOR THE ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN WHEN A STUDENT'S DRUG TEST IS 10
POSITIVE; TO PROVIDE THAT STUDENT DRUG TESTS WILL BE ADMINISTERED 11
BY THE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND TO PRESCRIBE THE MANNER IN 12
WHICH THE TESTING MUST BE PERFORMED; TO PROVIDE FOR THE DISCLOSURE 13
OF POSITIVE TEST RESULTS AND TO REQUIRE INFORMATION RELATING TO A 14
STUDENT'S DRUG TEST TO BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL AND SEPARATE FROM THE 15
STUDENT'S CUMULATIVE FOLDER; TO AUTHORIZE A STUDENT TO PRESENT 16
EVIDENCE OF THE PROPER USE OF A PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION AS AN 17
AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE TO A POSITIVE DRUG TEST; TO AUTHORIZE SCHOOL 18
DISTRICTS TO OFFER IN-SCHOOL COUNSELING OR REFERRAL INFORMATION 19
FOR STUDENTS TESTING POSITIVE FOR DRUGS; TO REQUIRE THE STATE 20
BOARD OF EDUCATION, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH 21
AND DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH, TO ADOPT RULES AND REGULATIONS 22
NECESSARY TO CARRY OUT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; TO REQUIRE THE 23
STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO PREPARE A MODEL DRUG TESTING 24
POLICY FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-15-9, MISSISSIPPI 25
CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; AND FOR 26
RELATED PURPOSES. 27
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 28
SECTION 1. (1) The Legislature finds that: 29
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(a) Many school districts within the state have a 30
problem with students who use drugs and alcohol; 31
(b) Substance use is a serious threat to student health 32
and safety and is a disruptive influence in the school setting; 33
(c) Preventing drug and illegal alcohol use by students 34
is a compelling educational and community interest in the State of 35
Mississippi; and 36
(d) Student drug testing program will create an 37
atmosphere that deters unruly behavior that warrants disciplinary 38
action and the use of drugs by students, as well as a means to 39
detect and inform parents of their child's substance involvement, 40
allowing for early intervention. 41
(2) The purposes of this act are to create a safe, drug free 42
environment for students and to protect students by seeking to 43
prevent them from harming themselves and others as a result of the 44
consumption of harmful substances. 45
SECTION 2. As used in this act, the following words and 46
phrases have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the 47
context clearly requires otherwise: 48
(a) "Confirmation test" means a second drug test on the 49
same specimen that uses an alternate method of equal or greater 50
sensitivity than that used in a previous drug test, used to 51
substantiate the results of the prior drug test on the specimen. 52
(b) "Drug" means an illegal drug or a prescription or 53
nonprescription medication. 54
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(c) "Drug test" means a chemical test administered for 55
the purpose of determining the presence or absence of a drug or 56
metabolites of a drug in a person's bodily fluids. 57
(d) "Illegal drug" means any substance, including 58
alcohol that is consumed by a person under the age of twenty-one 59
(21) years, having psychological and/or physiological effects on a 60
human being and that is not a prescription or nonprescription 61
medication, including controlled dangerous substances and 62
controlled substance analogs or volatile substances that produce 63
the psychological and/or physiological effects of a controlled 64
dangerous substance through deliberate introduction into the body. 65
(e) "Initial test" means an initial drug test to 66
determine the presence or absence of drugs or their metabolites in 67
specimens. 68
(f) "Positive test result" means a finding of the 69
presence of drugs or the metabolites of drugs in the specimen 70
tested. 71
(g) "Prescription" or "nonprescription medication" 72
means a drug prescribed for use by a duly licensed physician, 73
dentist or other medical practitioner licensed to issue 74
prescriptions or a drug that is authorized under federal or state 75
law for general distribution and use without a prescription in the 76
treatment of human diseases, ailments or injuries. 77
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(h) "Specimen" means a tissue or product of the human 78
body chemically capable of revealing the presence of drugs in the 79
human body. 80
SECTION 3. (1) Before the commencement of the 2026-2027 81
school year, the school board of each school district shall adopt 82
a policy requiring drug testing of all students enrolled in Grades 83
6 through 12 who have been penalized with in-school or 84
out-of-school suspension as a result of disruptive or violent 85
behavior in violation of the district's code of student conduct. 86
The policy shall provide: 87
(a) That the suspended student shall be drug tested and 88
the results of the test provided within seventy-two (72) hours of 89
the suspension be effectuated. The student must present evidence 90
of having submitted to a drug test that resulted in a negative 91
screening before the student is permitted to return to the 92
classroom; and 93
(b) That if testing of the suspended student results in 94
a positive screening, the school principal or licensed 95
professional counselor shall immediately refer the student to the 96
Department of Mental Health for Assessment, which shall make 97
recommendations for mental health and educational services and 98
substance abuse intervention, if determined to be necessary. 99
(2) A copy of the policy must be provided to each student 100
and the student's parents, guardian or custodian no less than 101
thirty (30) days before the policy's implementation. Each student 102
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and the student's parent, guardian or custodian must sign a 103
statement verifying that they have been given notice of the drug 104
testing policy. Any student who fails to comply with the 105
requirements of this section may not be readmitted to the school 106
until proof of compliance is presented to the principal of the 107
student's school. 108
(2) A school district's drug testing policy must comply with 109
this act and any rules and regulations that the State Board of 110
Education may adopt regarding drug testing policies. A policy 111
must include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following 112
provisions: 113
(a) The location and address of the county health 114
department to which a student selected for testing must report; 115
(b) Whether or not a confirmation test will be required 116
or permitted if a student's initial test is positive; 117
(c) A statement that the student's parent, guardian or 118
custodian is responsible for the cost of the initial test and any 119
confirmation test that may be conducted; 120
(d) A description of the help available through the 121
school district, the Mississippi Department of Mental Health and 122
other referral sources for students who have positive test 123
results; 124
(e) An explanation as to whether or not test results 125
are cumulative throughout a student's tenure in the school 126
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district or if test results from previous school years are 127
disregarded in subsequent years; 128
(f) A description of additional consequences to a 129
suspended student who refuses to submit to a drug test, including 130
whether or not a refusal may be construed as a drug-positive test; 131
(g) A clear description of who will have access of drug 132
testing results and the manner by which confidentiality will be 133
maintained; 134
(h) The manner in which a parent, guardian or custodian 135
will be informed of a child's positive test result; and 136
(i) The manner in which a student may challenge 137
positive test results, including a mechanism for students to 138
present evidence of the use of a prescription medication that may 139
have triggered a positive test result. 140
SECTION 4. (1) Whenever a school official receives 141
notification of a confirmed positive test result, the tested 142
student and the student's parents, guardian or custodian must be 143
informed in writing of the consequences of the positive test and 144
the options available to them. The information provided to the 145
student and the student's parents, guardian or custodian must 146
include what drug, including alcohol, was discovered. When 147
requested by the parents, guardian or custodian, copies of all 148
analytical results must be made available from the county health 149
department. 150
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(2) Within seventy-two (72) hours of receiving the test 151
results, a student who tests positive may request a re-test of the 152
original specimen, at the student's cost, by an independent 153
testing facility. 154
(3) A student who receives a positive result on a 155
confirmation test may submit, no later than five (5) school days 156
after receiving the results, information to the school explaining 157
the test results and reasons why the results do not constitute a 158
violation of the school district's drug testing policy. 159
(4) All student specimens testing negative on the initial 160
test or on the confirmation test must be reported as negative. 161
(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a school 162
district shall not report positive drug test results to law 163
enforcement authorities or court officials. 164
SECTION 5. (1) All testing for drugs under this act must be 165
performed in accordance with the following procedures: 166
(a) The collection of specimens must be performed at 167
the county health department under such conditions that the 168
individual dignity of the student being testing is preserved to 169
the extent practicable; 170
(b) Specimens must be collected in a manner reasonably 171
calculated to prevent substitution of specimens and interference 172
with the collection or testing of specimens; 173
(c) Specimen collection must be documented by chain of 174
custody procedures, including labeling of specimen containers to 175
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reasonably preclude the likelihood of erroneous identification of 176
test results and other chain of custody protections; 177
(d) Specimen handling must be performed in a reasonable 178
manner to preclude specimen contamination or adulteration; 179
(e) The initial test must be in the form of the 180
urinalysis dipstick; and 181
(f) The type of any subsequent confirmation test must 182
be selected by the student from a list of approved tests made 183
available to the student by the school district or county health 184
department. 185
(2) A drug test requested by a school under this act must 186
occur immediately before, during or immediately after the regular 187
school day. 188
(3) Testing for drugs under this act may be only for the 189
presence of illegal drugs, legal drugs used illegally or alcohol 190
in the specimen. 191
(4) A confirmation test must use a method of equal or 192
greater reliability than the urinalysis dipstick used in the 193
initial test. If an initial test is negative, there may be no 194
requirement for a confirmation test. 195
(5) Tests must be conducted by properly trained persons 196
under circumstances that ensure the integrity, validity and 197
accuracy of the test results but are minimally intrusive and 198
provide maximum privacy to the tested student. Specimens 199
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confirmed as positive must be retained for possible retesting or 200
reanalysis. 201
SECTION 6. (1) A county health department shall disclose 202
only to school authorities test result data regarding the presence 203
or absence of a drug or alcohol or their metabolites in a specimen 204
tested. Positive test results from a student drug test may not be 205
used as evidence in a criminal action against the school district 206
or student tested. 207
(2) A student must be given access to information in the 208
student's personal file relating to positive test result reports 209
and other information acquired in the drug testing process, 210
including conclusions drawn from and actions taken based on the 211
reports and other acquired information. 212
(3) Information resulting from a drug test conducted 213
pursuant to this act must be kept confidential and may not be used 214
for law enforcement purposes; however, the information may be 215
utilized for disciplinary, statistical or research purposes. 216
(4) Test result reports and other information acquired in 217
the drug testing process must be deemed to be private and 218
confidential information and may not be disclosed by school 219
authorities or the county health department to another public or 220
nonpublic school or to a third party individual, governmental 221
agency or private organization without the written consent of the 222
student and the student's parents, guardian or custodian. 223
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(5) Each school shall maintain drug testing records separate 224
from the students' permanent records and cumulative folders. The 225
school may retain in a student's drug testing records information 226
indicating only the following: 227
(a) Evidence of the results of a student's drug test 228
presented to the school before the student's enrollment; 229
(b) The date of the drug test; 230
(c) The identity of the person performing the drug 231
test; and 232
(d) Whether the drug test finding was positive or 233
negative. 234
SECTION 7. Any student who receives a positive test result 235
may present through clear and convincing evidence, as an 236
affirmative defense, that the use of a drug was prescribed by a 237
licensed medical practitioner who is familiar with the student's 238
medical history and that the drug was used in accordance with 239
school district policies. 240
SECTION 8. A school district, in conjunction with a 241
student's parents, guardian or custodian, may offer in-school 242
counseling for any student whose test results are positive or 243
alternatively, may provide referral information for the purpose of 244
obtaining drug or other counseling as appropriate. Referral 245
information must include information on inpatient, outpatient and 246
community-based drug and alcohol treatment programs. 247
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SECTION 9. The State Board of Education, in consultation 248
with the State Board of Health and Department of Mental Health, 249
shall adopt any rules and regulations that may be necessary to 250
carry out this act. The State Department of Education shall 251
prepare a model policy for use by school districts that conforms 252
to the requirements prescribed for drug testing policies under 253
Section 3 of this act. 254
SECTION 10. Section 37-15-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 255
amended as follows: 256
37-15-9. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) and 257
subject to the provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of this 258
section, no child shall be enrolled or admitted to any 259
kindergarten * * * that is a part of a public school during any 260
school year unless * * * that child will reach his or her fifth 261
birthday on or before September 1 of * * * the school year, and no 262
child shall be enrolled or admitted to the first grade in any 263
public school during any school year unless * * * that child will 264
reach his or her sixth birthday on or before September 1 of * * * 265
the school year. No pupil shall be permanently enrolled in a 266
public school in the State of Mississippi who formerly was 267
enrolled in another public or private school within the state 268
until the cumulative record of the pupil * * * has been received 269
from the school from which he transferred. * * * If the 270
cumulative record * * * has become lost or destroyed, then it 271
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shall be the duty of the superintendent or principal of the school 272
where the pupil last attended school to initiate a new record. 273
(2) Subject to the provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of 274
this section, any child who transfers from an out-of-state public 275
or private school in which that state's law provides for a 276
first-grade or kindergarten enrollment date * * * after September 277
1, shall be allowed to enroll in the public schools of 278
Mississippi, at the same grade level as their prior out-of-state 279
enrollment, if: 280
(a) The parent, legal guardian or custodian of * * * 281
the child was a legal resident of the state from which the child 282
is transferring; 283
(b) The out-of-state school from which the child is 284
transferring is duly accredited by that state's appropriate 285
accrediting authority; 286
(c) * * * The child was legally enrolled in a public or 287
private school for a minimum of four (4) weeks in the previous 288
state; and 289
(d) The superintendent of schools in the applicable 290
Mississippi school district or the principal of a charter school, 291
as the case may be, has determined that the child was making 292
satisfactory educational progress in the previous state. 293
(3) When any child applies for admission or enrollment in 294
any public school in the state, the parent, guardian or child, in 295
the absence of an accompanying parent or guardian, shall indicate 296
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on the school registration form if the enrolling child has been 297
expelled from any public or private school or is currently a party 298
to an expulsion proceeding. If it is determined from the child's 299
cumulative record or application for admission or enrollment that 300
the child has been expelled, the school district or charter school 301
may deny the student admission and enrollment until the 302
superintendent of the school, or his or her designee, or principal 303
of the charter school, as the case may be, has reviewed the 304
child's cumulative record and determined that the child has 305
participated in successful rehabilitative efforts including, but 306
not limited to, progress in an alternative school or similar 307
program. If the child is a party to an expulsion proceeding, the 308
child may be admitted to a public school pending final disposition 309
of the expulsion proceeding. If the expulsion proceeding results 310
in the expulsion of the child, the public school may revoke * * * 311
the admission to school. If the child was expelled or is a party 312
to an expulsion proceeding for an act involving violence, weapons, 313
alcohol, illegal drugs or other activity that may result in 314
expulsion, the school district or charter school shall not be 315
required to grant admission or enrollment to the child before one 316
(1) calendar year after the date of the expulsion. 317
(4) No child in Grade 6 or higher in a public school who has 318
been subjected to disciplinary action for a violation of the 319
district's code of student conduct or other prohibited or illegal 320
acts on a school campus, which result in an in-school or 321
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ST: School districts; require drug testing of
students suspended for disciplinary infractions.
out-of-school suspension, shall be readmitted to the school until 322
the child has submitted proof that the child has complied with the 323
drug testing requirements prescribed under Section 3 of this act. 324
SECTION 11. This act shall take effect and be in force from 325
and after July 1, 2026. 326