Macon County R-IV in New Cambria was randomly selected for a state program that will test wastewater from its school building for fentanyl and other drugs this school year.
The Missouri Department of Public Safety chose the Macon County R-IV School District for its Wastewater Testing for School Safety program, according to a post the district published Tuesday on its website. The district wrote that the selection "does not mean state officials identified or suspected a drug-related concern at our school."
Samples come from the building's outside sewer pipe, not the drinking water, and are collected during school hours only, in several rounds between October and mid-May, according to the post. The testing screens for synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, nitazenes, and carfentanil, as well as other substances.
The testing does not identify individual students or staff. A positive result means someone who contributed to the wastewater during sampling hours used a tested substance within the previous 24 to 72 hours, and that person could be a student, staff member, or visitor, the district wrote.
"A positive result will not lead to student investigations, searches or discipline," according to the post, which says the Department of Public Safety "has said it carries no such expectation."
The district wrote that it will share any result with the community "promptly and in plain language." The department reports results publicly by Missouri State Highway Patrol troop, not by school, but anyone can request school-level results under Missouri's Sunshine Law, according to the post.
"We plan to share our results before others do," the district wrote.
Macon County is in the patrol's Troop B, which is headquartered in Macon, according to the patrol.
The state and its vendor, Stercus Bioanalytics, run the testing at no cost to the district. The vendor handles the site assessment, equipment, sample collection, and lab analysis, according to the post.
The district wrote that naloxone, also known as Narcan, is available and staff are trained to use it. Students and families who need help can reach school nurse Audrey Ford through the school at 660-376-6020. The district also plans to work with the Macon County Health Department on education for students and families.
About 164 schools statewide were chosen at random this year across the patrol's nine troops, and the department notified superintendents of selected districts Aug. 18, the district wrote.
Gov. Mike Kehoe signed House Bill 2002 and House Bill 2008 on June 30. Starting with the 2026-27 school year, the new laws require districts the department selects to take part in the state's efforts to monitor and identify dangerous drugs in schools, including fentanyl and nitazenes, according to a July 22 bulletin from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The Department of Public Safety offered districts a voluntary version of the testing in December 2025. More than 40 took part, and "the extent and nature of dangerous deadly drugs detected was alarming," according to the bulletin.