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210. Use of Medication

The purpose of this policy is to specify the conditions and circumstances under which medication shall be administered to students in school and during school-sponsored activities.

MEDICATION

Prescribed Medication is any drug prescribed by a physician or allied health professional licensed to write prescriptions for any state in the United States for treating an injury, disease or disorder.

Over the Counter Medication is any drug obtained by the parent/guardian of an unemancipated minor student as an over-the-counter drug and for which there exists a written authorization by the parent/guardian and the District’s or student’s physician to administer the drug during the school day and during school-sponsored activities. This definition includes food supplements and any homeopathic or herbal remedy administered for the purpose of treating a physical or mental impairment.

Self-administration means pre-approved medication administered directly by the student to the student herself/himself.

Supervised self-administration means self-administration of pre-approved medication not in the presence of a school nurse but, except in the case of emergency self-administration, in the presence of designated school personnel.

Emergency self-administration means self-administration of pre-approved medication to avoid immediate and substantial risk to health (including but not limited to, self-administration of an Epi-Pen, Epi-Pen, Jr., insulin, or an inhaler) or self-administration required by an Individualized Education Program or Chapter 15 Service Agreement.

1. Students are forbidden from bringing any medication to school that is not authorized by a physician and parent/guardian.
   
2. The school district shall not be responsible for the diagnosis of a pupil's illness or injury.
   
3. In accordance with written permission of the parent/guardian and with the written direction of the treating physician, the administration or supervised self-administration of medication to or by a student during school hours, including school-sponsored activities such as field trips, extracurricular activities and athletic events (participants only) will be permitted only when:
   
   1. failure to take such medication would jeopardize the health of the pupil; and/or
   
   
   
   2. the student would not be able to attend school if the medication were not made available during regular school hours; and
      
      
   3. 
      
      1. the prescribed medication does not exceed the usual recommended dose as listed in the Physicians Desk Reference except when the reason for the exceptional dose is reviewed and approved in writing by the student’s physician or the District’s consulting physician and the parent/guardian provides a written release; or,
      2. the over-the-counter medication does not exceed the recommended dose as listed in the Physicians Desk Reference. A physician’s written standing order is sufficient for the administering of over-the-counter medications which exceeds the recommended dose as listed in the Physicians Desk Reference if the parent/guardian provides a written release.
4. The superintendent or a designee shall formulate procedures that a parent/guardian must follow before any medication will be administered to his/her child during school hours and at school-sponsored activities. The procedures shall include a written request from the parent/guardian to administer the medication with a written order from the physician prescribing the medication. Except as specifically provided for in this Policy and the accompanying Administrative Regulations, all medications must be given to the school nurse for storing and administering, and students are not permitted to carry any medications, either prescribed or over the counter, on their persons during the school day and at school-sponsored activities.
   
5. For life threatening situations indicating incipient anaphylac¬tic shock, responsible staff shall be authorized by the principal to administer the prescribed Epi-Pen. The superintendent or a designee shall designate the procedures to be followed, including training of staff, forms to be completed in advance by the parent/guardian and a procedure for emergency administration of the medication.
   
6. Nothing in this policy is designed to prevent the administration of first aid, including administration of an Epi-Pen, to a student without the express written permission of a parent, where deemed necessary by a nurse pursuant to her professional judgment.
   
7. The Superintendent shall develop administrative regulations that permit emergency self-administration and supervised self-administration of prescribed and over-the-counter medication by students. In the case of supervised self-administration, objective criteria for supervision of self-administration by responsible school personnel will be developed. These regulations shall address supervised self-administration of medication on school property and in connection with any school-sponsored events such as athletics, extracurricular activities and field trips and overnight student trips. Any emergency self-administration of medication shall be reported to the school nurse and in turn, by the school nurse to the student’s parent or guardian as soon thereafter as practicable.
   
8. All medications designated as controlled substances, including refills, must be delivered in person during business hours to the school nurse or principal’s office by the student’s parent or guardian, except in the case of emancipated students.
   
9. The superintendent or a designee shall periodically review state standards and direct the responsible personnel accordingly.
   
10. The superintendent or a designee shall prepare administrative regulations to implement this policy.
    
11. Exceptions to this policy must be approved by the Superintendent and the District consulting physician.