Head Lice Policy and Procedure

Elementary students will be screened periodically for the presence of head live.  Notes will be sent home with students one week prior to a classroom screening for head lice to notify parents.  Secondary students will be checked for head lice, if symptoms occur, by the school nurse or other designated person.

Any student found to have live head lice will be excluded from school.  The parent/guardian will be contacted to pick up their child from school.  Instructions on how to treat for head lice will be given to the parents.  Minimal attention should be drawn to the infected student.

In accordance with Oklahoma State Law, Section 1210.194, any child prohibited from attending school due to head live shall present to the appropriate school authorities, before the child may reenter school, certification from a health professional as defined by Section 2601 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes or an authorized representative of the State Department of Health that the child is no longer afflicted with head lice.

Students must be free of all lice and eggs (nits) prior to returning to school.

If an excluded student returns to school without certification from a health professional stating that he/she is free of head lice and nits, the school will contact the parent to pick up the child from school and taken to get a certificate to return to school.

Any student excluded from school for head lice will be screened by the school nurse or other designated person on a weekly basis until they are free of all head lice and nits for 3 consecutive weeks.

If a student is checked for head lice and no live lice are present but eggs (nits) greater than 1/2 inch from the scalp are found, a note will be sent home with the student to notify the parents.  The parents will be asked to treat the child for head lice, if they have not already done so, and to remove all nits.  The child will be rechecked at school in one week.  If nits are still present, the child will be excluded from school until they present a note from a health professional stating that the child is free of head lice and nits.  If the student is free of nits, they will be re-screened in one week to make sure there has not been a re-infestation.

Any student excluded from school for head lice more than twice in a two month period, frequently sent to school infested with head lice, or frequently missing school due to head lice is considered to have a chronic infestation of head lice.  These students will be referred to other community resources such as the Canadian County Health Department, Canadian County Juvenile Office, the Department of Human Services and/or their primary care physician for additional assistance in getting rid of head lice.  Once a student is excluded from school due to head lice, the parent will be given 3 school days to treat their child, remove ALL of the eggs, have them re-checked by a health professional, and returned to school.  After the third day, if the student remains absent from school, he/she will be referred to the Truancy Officer from the Canadian County Juvenile Office.

Medication Administration at School

It is the policy of El Reno Board of Education that if a student is required to take medication during school hours and the parent/guardian cannot be at school to administer the medication or if circumstances exist that indicate it is in the best interest of the student that a non-prescribed medication be dispensed to that student, the principal, or the principal's designee, may administer the medication only as follows:

• A school nurse, or in the absence of such nurse, an administrator or designated school employee, may administer the following medicine(s) to students when authorized in writing by the student's parent/guardian.  The El Reno Public Schools and its employees and agents shall incur no liabilty as a result of any injury arising from the self-administration of medication by the student.
  • Prescription medications must be in the original container labeled with the current date, name of pharmacy, name of prescriber, name of student, name and strength of medicine, and directions for administration.  No aspirin containing medication will be given without a doctor's note (such as Pepto-Bismol, Excedrin, Aspirin).
  • Sample drugs or over-the-counter medications will be administered in accordance with label directions or by a physician's written order.
    
• Procedures for Administering Medications at School
  • Written authorization and instructions by the parent/guardian must accompany all medicines sent to school.  New authorizations are required each year.  Parents/guardians are responsible to keep the school notified of any change in health conditions or change in medication.  Copies are to be kept at the child's school site, and are reviewed by the nurse monthly, then sent to the nurse at the end of the year.
  • All medicines must be brought to the school office.  All medicines will be kept in a locked cabinet expect for those requiring refrigeration.  Inhalers may be kept in ziptop bags for cleanliness.
  • Any prescription medicine or over-the-counter medication carried by a student during the school day must be accompanied by a note from the parent/guardian and a physician stating that it is medically necessary for the medicine to remain with the student.  This must be approved the school nurse and the site administrator.
  • Only enough medicine to be given at school in one month's time should be sent to school.  The rest of the medication should be kept at home.  Containers will be returned home with the child when the container is empty.
  • Each school in which any medication is administered must keep a record of the name of the student to whom the medicine was administered, the date and time the medicine was given, the name of the person who gave the medicine, and the name of the medicine given.
  • It is the responsibility of the school nurse, an administrator, or designee to ensure that any student with an EIP or IHSP receives his/her authorized medication.  All other students will be assisted to remember to take their medication as instructed by the parent/guardian.
  • A new authorization form must be filled out for each change in dosage of medication.  Telephone changes will not be accepted.
  • Designated school personnel will give only one medication at a time to one student at a time.  Medicine will be checked 3 times before it is given (when medicine is taken from shelf, when it is poured or handed to student, when medicine is replaced on the shelf).
  • Inhalers may be kept with a student at all times and self-administered as the student deems necessary.  The inhaler must be properly labeled with a pharmacy label.  It is recommended that the parent provide the school office with an extra inhaler in case of emergency.
  • Medicines sent to school without proper labeling will not be administered to the student even if there is a note from the parent/guardian.
  • Parents/guardians may administer prescription and over-the-counter medications to their child at school.
    
• Procedures for Administering Nebulizer Breathing Treatments at School
  • A physician's written order must accompany the written authorization and instructions of the parent/guardian.
  • Nebulizer breathing treatments may be prepared and self-administered as the student deems necessary with written authorization from the parent/guardian.  The treatment will be supervised by a school nurse, administrator, or designated school employee.
  • Any treatment ordered by the physician on an "as needed" basis, for a student who is not authorized by the parent/guardian and a physician to prepare and self-administered the treatment, must be seen by the school nurse before the treatment can be given.
  • Medicine containers must be labeled with a current pharmacy label.
  • Only the amount of medicine needed for one day should be sent to school at one time.
  • Nebulizer machines shall be properly stored and not readily accessible to persons other than the persons who will administer the medicine.
  • Nebulizer mouthpiece of face mask and the medicine container will be sent home with the student at the end of the school day, if used, for proper cleaning.
  • Nebulizer machines and all equipment including tubing will be sent home at the end of each week for proper cleaning.  It is the parent/guardian's responsibility to care and maintain the machine and equipment.
  • Nebulizer machines and equipment will not be shared between students.
  • All other procedures for administering medications at school will apply to nebulizer breathing treatments as well.

PROCEDURES FOR SELF ADMINSITRATION OF EMERGENCY MEDICATION

Students with severe asthma, anaphylaxis, or life threatening condition who need to carry and self-administer an emergency medication must adhere to the following guidelines.  Anaphylaxis medication includes, but is not limited to, Epinephrine injectors, prescribed by a physician and having an individual label.  A student who is permitted to self-administer anaphylaxis medication, inhaled asthma medication or emergency medication shall be permitted to possess and use this type of medication at all times for the school year in which permission for self-administration is granted.

• Submit a written statement from the physician treating the student indicating the child's condition and that he/she is capable of and has been instructed in the proper method of self-administration of the medication.
• The parent/guardian must complete and sign the Authorization to Administer Medication from.  This form gives parently consent for adminsitration of the medication and acknowledges that the school district, employees and agents shall incur no liability as a result of any injury arsing from the self-administration of the medication by the student.
• It is the parent/guardian's responsibility to provide the school with an emergency supply of the student's medication to be administered as authorized by state law.
• Permission for the self-administration of medication is effective for the school year for which it is granted, and must be renewed each subsequent school year upon the fulfillment of the above requirements.

By signing and initialing on the Medication Authorization Form, parents/guardians are stating that they understand the guidelines as stated.  Parent/guardian also understands that under state law, the Board of Education, the school district, or the employees of the district shall not be liable to the student or the student's parent/guardian for civil damages for any personal injuries to the student which result from acts or omissions of school employees in administering any medication.

El Reno Public Schools Medication Authorization and Administration Record

Click on Form Below
Print, Complete, Sign, and Return to Your Child's School

Contact the School Nurse and/or Nurse Assistant at (405) 262-0972