What does a SAP do now, when a school sends a student for a SAP process?

When a student comes to DOT SAP with a positive pre-employment test or refusal, SAP need to ask a few questions.

If the school ordered the test, then ask 1) Is the student employed by the school? and 2) Is the student leasing a CMV from the school? If both questions are answered with a no, then this test should not have been conducted by the school, and the student is not required to complete a SAP return-to-duty process.
 
If the student answers in the affirmative “Yes” to both or either questions that he/she is enrolled in a C/TPA, and the C/TPA ordered the pre-employment test, then the test was ordered correctly under the regulation. SAP can proceed with an assessment. When the student successfully completes their treatment plan they will enter the date on the Clearinghouse, and the SAP will send two SAP reports and follow-up testing plan to the student’s C/TPA. Upon receiving SAP documentation, the C/TPA can order a return-to-duty test, which will allow the driver (student) to now return to the school.
 
Can you guess what the HUGE problem will be? Driving schools who don’t know about this change might not be receptive to the explanations.

This is going to be a challenge. And as SAPs, you will be the ones to have to deal with it more than anyone else.

Here is a link to an interpretation from FMCSA:
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/drug-alcohol-testing/applicability-part-382-student-drivers-and-driver-training-schools

What should a SAP do about students who have completed a SAP process sometime in the recent past, and you sent your SAP reports to the DER of the truck driving school?

SAP need to contact that school’s DER. Ask if they are aware of this regulation. Tell the DER that the student should be required to immediately enroll in a C/TPA. His C/TPA can then order a pre-employment test. The C/TPA should send a copy of the test result to the school’s DER. If the result is negative, the student can continue in school. If the result is positive, the MRO will enter it on the Clearinghouse as a violation, and the student will have to complete another SAP process. (It shouldn’t be a surprise us that a student who completed a SAP process has continued using drugs once he/she was back in school).
 
This is enough information for now. Yes, this is complicated!