The McLennan County Rural Transit District Board on Oct. 17, 2025 approved an updated drug and alcohol policy that staff said aligns the district’s procedures with the Code of Federal Regulations and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements.

Miss Stevenson, who presented the item, said the policy had not been reviewed since June 2023 and that the updates primarily revise definitions and wording to match federal regulatory language. Stevenson said examples include replacing specific phrasing about "chain of custody" and the handling of urine or oral fluid with broader wording describing the procedure used to document handling of drug specimens.

Stevenson told the board the changes are not substantive in the sense of altering the percentage of required testing or the district’s established 0‑tolerance approach to drug and alcohol use by employees. She outlined existing program elements required by the FTA and CFR, including monthly random testing obligations for employees with commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs), reasonable-suspicion testing, and supervisory training. Staff said tri-annual audits review financial and drug-and-alcohol compliance and that supervisors receive annual training on testing distinctions (for example, when DOT-level testing is required and when it is not).

Under the policy as described, employees who test positive are removed from the work schedule pending evaluation by a substance-abuse professional; if a positive test is not cleared, staff said the employee would be terminated. Stevenson offered to circulate a redline of the changes to board members and the board voted to approve the updated policy.

The board asked no further questions and approved the policy by voice vote.