Medical information - Required Immunizations
Please review the 2021-2022 New York State Immunization Requirements for School Entrance/Attendance at
www.health.ny.gov/publications/2370.pdf
All immunizations are in accordance with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
A student who is in the process is defined as one who has had the first dose of all required immunization series and has appointments to complete the series in accordance with the AICP catch up schedule. (www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/child-adolescent.html. A student who is in the process as defined above will be allowed to attend school by a NYS health care provider.
Medical exemptions to immunizations must be reissued annually.
Head Lice Policy
When a child is found to have live head lice, their parent will be notified. The child will remain in class, but be discouraged from direct head to head contact with others. The child will be sent home on the bus at the end of the school day. The child may return to school after the parent has treated the child's head and they are free from active lice. Current treatment protocols make this possible in less than twenty-four (24) hours. A student who has been found to have live head lice will be readmitted to school after successfully completing an examination by the school nurse.
Nurse's Office
No student will be seen if he/she comes to the Nurse's Office without a pass. Students are to go to their class and get a pass from the teacher to come to the Nurse's Office. The only exceptions are emergencies (i.e. bleeding, chest pain, asthma attacks, etc.).
Occasionally during the school year, it becomes necessary to transport children home from school because they are injured/ill. We ask that parents make provisions for the transportation of a child who is ill or injured within one (1) hour from the time the nurse calls you. We also ask that you provide the school with the name and phone number of a person who will be able to pick up your child in the event that we cannot reach you.
Please notify the school at once if your telephone number changes either at home or at work. The school does not provide transportation home for children when they are sick. It is imperative that an Emergency Authorization Sheet be on file to provide this information. (If as a result of an illness or injury, your child needs special accommodations or transportation, please contact the school nurse).
Parents will be requested to come for their child, if the child:
- Has a temperature of 100 or over *.
- Is nauseous, or vomiting, or has diarrhea.
- Has been injured and there is a chance of further injury
- Feels dizzy.
- Has live lice.
- Requires special attention regarding his/her health and welfare.
- If after resting in the Health Office the nurse feels he/she is not well enough to return to class.
*If your child has had a fever, he/she should remain home until the temperature is normal for 24 hours without having to use medication to keep the temperature down.
If your child is ill in the morning, please do not send him/her to school. The Nurse's Office is not set up to take care of your child all day when he/she is ill. We do not have the facilities and sometimes there are other circumstances, which make it impossible for children to stay in the Nurse's Office all day. Please plan to pick up your child as soon as possible.
If a student does come to the Nurse's Office because they are sick, they may remain, generally, 10-15 minutes before they will either return to class or their parent/guardians will be called to pick them up. The school does not provide transportation home.
Any student/parent wishing to discuss a personal, family or medical concern can do so with the school nurse.
Student Health Services Policy
The Board of Education recognizes that good student health is vital to successful learning and acknowledges its responsibility, along with that of parent(s) or guardian(s), to protect and foster a safe and healthful environment for the students.
The school shall work closely with students' families to provide detection and preventive health services. In accordance with law, the school will provide vision, hearing, dental inspection and scoliosis screening. Problems shall be referred to the parent(s) or guardian(s) who shall be encouraged to have their family physician/dentist provide appropriate care.
In order to enroll in school a student must submit a health certificate within 30 calendar days after entering school as a new entrant, and upon entering Pre K or K, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 11th grades. The examination, which must conform to state requirements, must have been conducted no more than 12 months before the first day of the school year in question. If a student is unable to furnish the health certificate, the school will provide a physical examination by a licensed provider. A request for exemption from the physical examination, or the requirement to provide a health certificate, must be made in writing to the school principal or designee, who may require documents supporting the request. The only basis for exemption is a claim that the physical examination is in conflict with the parent or guardian's genuine and sincere religious belief.
The Board recognizes that the State of New York may authorize and require the collection of data from health certificates in furtherance of tracking and understanding health care issues that affect children. The Board supports these efforts and expects administrators to cooperate and to observe the appropriate laws and regulations in carrying out those responsibilities, including those that relate to student privacy.
In addition, students will be asked to provide a dental health certificate when they enroll in school and in accordance with the same schedule as the health certificate.
A permanent student health record shall be part of a student's cumulative school record and should follow the student from grade to grade and school to school along with his/her academic record. This record folder shall be maintained by the school nurse.
Schools shall also provide emergency care for students in accidental or unexpected medical situations. Each school in the district will include in its emergency plan a protocol for responding to health care emergencies, including anaphylaxis and head injury. Parents/guardians will be notified of any emergency medical situation as soon as is practicable.
Communicable Diseases
It is the responsibility of the Board to provide all students with a safe and healthy school environment. To meet this responsibility, it is sometimes necessary to exclude students with contagious and infectious diseases, as defined in the Public Health Law, from attendance in school. Students will be excluded during periods of contagion for time periods indicated on a chart developed by the school nurse.
It is the responsibility of the Superintendent of Schools, working through district health personnel, to enforce this policy and to contact the county or local health department when a reportable case of a communicable disease is identified in the student or staff population.
Administering Medication to Students
Neither the Board nor district staff members shall be responsible for the diagnosis or treatment of student illness. The administration of prescribed medication to a student during school hours shall be permitted only when failure to take such medicine would jeopardize the health of the student, or the student would not be able to attend school if the medicine were not made available to him/her during school hours, or where it is done pursuant to law requiring accommodation to a student's special medical needs (e.g., Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973). "Medication" will include all medicines prescribed by a physician.
Before any medication may be administered to or by any student during school hours, the Board requires:
1. the written request of the parent(s) or guardian(s), which shall give permission for such administration and relieve the Board and its employees of liability for administration of medication; and
2. the written order of the prescribing physician, which will include the purpose of the medication, the dosage, the time at which or the special circumstances under which medication shall be administered, the period for which medication is prescribed, and the possible side effects of the medication.
Students are allowed to carry and apply parentally provided sunscreen without a prescription from a medical provider, assuming that the sunscreen is FDA approved and that the sunscreen is not treating a medical condition. Parents need to provide the district with written permission for students to use sunscreen.
Permission slips and medical orders shall be kept on file in the office of the school nurse.
Life-Threatening Allergies and Anaphylaxis Management
The Board recognizes its role and responsibility in supporting a healthy learning environment for all students, including those who have, or develop, life-threatening allergies. The district will work cooperatively with the student, their parent/guardian and healthcare provider to allow the child to participate as fully and as safely as possible in school activities. When a student has a known life-threatening allergy reported on their health form or if the district has been informed by the parent of the presence of a life-threatening allergy, the district will assemble a team, which may include the parent, the school nurse, the child's teacher, the building principal and other appropriate personnel, which will be charged with developing an individual health care plan. The plan will be maintained by the school nurse. The plan will guide prevention and response. If the student is eligible for accommodations based upon the IDEA, Section 504 or the Americans with Disabilities Act, the appropriate procedures will be followed regarding identification, evaluation and implementation of accommodations.
Training
Training to support the fulfillment of staff responsibilities in regard to student health services will be provided as part of the district's ongoing professional development plan and in conformity with Commissioner's regulations.
Regulations
The Superintendent shall develop comprehensive regulations governing student health services. Those regulations shall include the provision of all health services required by law, procedures for the maintenance of health records, and procedures for the administering of medication to students. The Superintendent shall also develop protocols, in consultation with the school physician and other appropriate district staff, for the management of injury, with particular attention to concussion.