Policies for Medication & Health Room
Our school strives to support each student for a successful school year. Please carefully review the following policies for the health room, medication administration, and illness. These policies are in place to protect your child’s health, safety, and well-being. They are also required by our governing school district. All authorization forms and the illness policy can be located on the school’s website or can be provided by the school upon request. Feel free to contact the school nurse to discuss any medical needs that may affect your child while at school.
Students are required to submit a written and signed parental and/or physician authorization form, for each medication to be administered at school, each school year. Please refer to the school’s website or contact the school nurse for the appropriate authorization form. Exceptions to this policy are based on extreme medical circumstances, and will also require parental authorization. Medication needed on field trips is also covered by this policy and must be administered by an individual designated by the principal. There are separate permission forms for medication administration on field trips.
Medication must be delivered directly to the school nurse or other designated school employee by the student’s parent or legal guardian. All medications must be FDA approved. Students are not permitted to carry/deliver medication to school. Students are not allowed to self-administer prescription or OTC medications at school. All medications (both prescription and over the counter medications) must be maintained in the Health Room and administered by the school nurse or designated personnel; only medications authorized by a physician, parent, and approved by the school to treat life-threatening conditions, are permitted for students to self-administer (see below). Any violation of this can lead to disciplinarian action.
For your child’s safety AND the safety of others, please remember:
- ALL PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION must have written and signed parental and physician authorization before medication can be administered at school. Prescription medications should be delivered in their original, labeled container from the pharmacy.
- ALL OVER THE COUNTER MEDICATIONS must have written and signed parental authorization before medication can be administered at school. Over the counter medications should be delivered in their original, unopened container. Any over the counter medication given daily for longer than 10 consecutive days requires a physician’s authorization.
- MEDICATIONS APPROVED FOR SELF-MEDICATION AND SELF-MONITORING are inhalers for students with asthma, insulin (pumps or injections) for diabetic students, and Epi-Pens for severe allergic reaction. Independent self-administration/monitoring of these medications also require written authorization from the physician, parent, and approval from the school. The school may refuse to allow for a student to self-administer medication or self-monitor (unsupervised) if that student is endangering their safety or the safety of another student by the misuse of their medication/medical device.
- ALL MEDICATION (prescription and over the counter) can only be administered as labeled and must be FDA approved. The school nurse/school designated person is legally required to administer only medication with FDA approval. Medication must be brought to school by a parent or legal guardian and given directly to the school nurse or designated school personnel. Students cannot deliver these to the health room. We do not administer or allow CBD oil at school.
- PARENTS are responsible for picking up expired medication and any medication left at the end of the school year, or they will be destroyed. The school nurse/ school designated person will not administer any medication past the expiration date. Parents must know the expiration date of any medication brought to school and replace medication before the expiration date.
Under S.C. Code Ann. Reg. 43-241, students who cannot attend public school because of illness, accident, or pregnancy, even with the aid of transportation, are eligible for medical homebound or hospitalized instruction. A physician must certify the student is unable to attend school but may profit from instruction given in the home or hospital. Should an approved student not be provided the medical homebound instruction that he or she is entitled to receive, the student is eligible to have the medical homebound instruction made up by the district. This make up may occur during the student’s remaining eligibility for medical homebound instruction or may occur after the student returns to school provided the make-up periods are not during the regular school day.
Under S.C. Code Ann. § 59-40-50(B)(1), a charter school must adhere to the same health, safety, civil rights, and disability rights requirements as are applied to public schools operating in the same school district or, in the case of the South Carolina Public Charter School District or a public or independent institution of higher learning sponsor, the local school district in which the charter school is located.
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please contact the school nurse, Kim Hall, khall@greermiddlecollege.org.
