FILE:  JGC

STUDENT HEALTH SERVICES

HEALTH CARE CENTERS

In order to provide adequate health care and services to students, the Ouachita Parish School Board may authorize the establishment of student health care centers in the schools of the parish.  Any health clinic established shall be supervised by a school nurse, who shall be licensed in accordance with state law.  Health care centers shall provide services which include, but are not limited to the following:  treatment of minor illness and injury, routine physical examinations, immunizations, referrals to alcohol and drug abuse prevention program counselors, and mental health services.  No student shall receive any type of service unless the required standardized school health forms as outlined in Health and Safety, Bulletin 135 have been signed, returned to school, and have been filed in the clinic.

HEARING AND VISION SCREENING

The School Board, during the first semester of the school year, or within thirty (30) days after the admission of students entering school late in the session, shall test the sight, including color screening for all first grade students, and hearing of students according to the schedule outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics, except those students whose parents or guardians may object to such tests.  Students may also be tested upon referral or requests of teachers and/or parents.

A record of such examination shall be kept and the administrators shall be required to follow up on the deficiencies within sixty (60) days, and shall notify in writing the parent or tutor of every student found to have any defect of sight or hearing.

EDUCATIONAL SCREENING AND EVALUATION

Every student in grades kindergarten through third shall be screened, at least once, for the existence of impediments to a successful school experience.  No student shall be screened if his/her parent or guardian objects to such screening.  Such impediments shall include:

1. dyslexia and related disorders;

2. attention deficit disorder; and

3. social and environmental factors that put a student "at risk."

Students in need of services and/or assistance shall have it provided to them.

The screenings shall be done directly by elementary school counselors, pupil appraisal personnel, teachers, or any other professional employees of the School Board who have been appropriately trained, all of whom shall operate as advocates for the students identified as needing services or assistance.  No screenings shall be done by persons who have not been trained to do such screenings.

The School Board shall ensure that educational screening activities, conducted by a committee at the school level, shall be completed before a student is referred for an individual evaluation through pupil appraisal services.

Students who are experiencing learning or adjustment difficulties in a regular program, but are not thought to be exceptional, may receive support services from pupil appraisal by a referral from a committee at the school level.

Testing for Dyslexia

Upon the request of a parent, student, school nurse, classroom teacher, or other school personnel who has reason to believe that a student has a need to be tested for dyslexia and related disorders, that student shall be referred to the school building level committee for additional testing.  The School Board shall provide remediation for students with dyslexia or related disorders in an appropriate education program.

For purposes of this policy, dyslexia shall be defined as an unexpected difficulty in reading for an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader, most commonly caused by a difficulty in phonological processing, which affects the ability of an individual to speak, read, and spell.  Phonological processing means the appreciation of the individual sounds of spoken and written language.

OTHER HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS

The School Board acknowledges that only properly trained personnel shall make recommendations regarding certain health issues of students.

The School Board shall prohibit, in accordance with statutory provisions, any teacher employed by the School Board from recommending that a student be administered a psychotropic drug, specifying or identifying any specific mental health diagnosis for a student, or using a parent's or guardian's refusal to consent to the administration of a psychotropic drug to a student or to a psychiatric evaluation, screening, or examination of a student as grounds for prohibiting the student from attending any class or participating in any school-related activity or as the sole basis of accusations of child abuse or neglect against the parent or guardian.

The provisions of the above paragraph shall not be construed so as to prohibit any of the following:

1. An employee of the School Board who is a registered nurse, nurse practitioner, physician, or an appropriately credentialed mental health professional or teacher from recommending that a student be evaluated by an appropriate medical practitioner.
   
   

2. A teacher or other certified employee of the School Board from suggesting a student be assessed or evaluated by qualified employees of the School Board who perform such function.
   
   

3. A teacher assessing or evaluating any element of a student's academic readiness, performance, or achievement.
   
   

4. Any employee of the School Board from discussing any aspect of a student's behavior or academic progress with the student's parent or guardian or any other employee of the School Board.

Definitions

Psychotropic drug shall mean a substance that is used in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of a disease or as a component of a medication and is intended to have an altering effect on perception, emotion, or behavior.

Teacher, for purposes of this section of the policy, shall mean any person employed by the School Board, who, as a condition of employment, is required to hold a valid teaching certificate issued by the Louisiana Department of Education and any person employed by the School Board as a substitute teacher.

SEIZURE TREATMENT AND TRAINING

The parent or guardian of a student with a seizure disorder may submit to the administration of the student's school a seizure management and treatment plan developed by the student's parent and treating physician for review and use by school employees with whom the student has regular interaction.  The plan shall include the following:

1. The health care services the student may receive at school or while participating in a school activity.
   
   

2. Evaluation of the student's ability to manage and understand his/her seizure disorder.
   
   

3. Signatures from the student's parent or legal guardian and from the treating physician.

School nurses and such school employees and school bus operators who have regular interactions with a student for whom there is a seizure management and treatment plan shall be required to biennially successfully complete instruction provided by the Department of Education.

ADMINISTERING CATHETERS

The School Board shall not require any employee other than a registered nurse or a licensed medical physician to catheterize any student until all of the following conditions have been met:

1. A registered nurse or licensed medical physician, employed by the School Board, has assessed the health status of the specific child in his/her specific educational setting.  The registered nurse has determined that the procedure could be safely performed, the results are predictable and could be delegated to someone other than a registered nurse following documented training.
   
   

2. The registered nurse or licensed medical physician shall train at least two (2) employees to catheterize the specific child in his/her educational setting.  The employees shall be given not less than eight (8) hours of training in the area of catheterization of students.
   
   

3. Following the training provided for in #2, no catheterization may be performed unless prescribed in writing by a licensed medical physician.  The employee, other than the registered nurse or licensed medical physician, shall be required to complete, under the direct supervision of a registered nurse, a minimum of five (5) catheterizations.  Upon one hundred percent successful completion of these catheterizations, the registered nurse or licensed medical physician and the trainee shall sign a standard form indicating that the trainee has attained the prescribed level of competency.  A copy of this form shall be kept on file by the school system.
   
   

4. Individuals who are required to perform catheterizations and have been trained according to statutory provisions, may not decline to perform such service except as exempted by a licensed medical physician or a registered nurse.  The reasons for such exemption shall be documented and certified by the licensed medical physician or a registered nurse within seventy-two (72) hours.
   
   

5. Any employee shall have the right to request that another School Board employee be present while catheterizing the student, to serve as a witness to the procedure.  After making such a request, the employee shall not be required to catheterize a student without such a witness.

The provisions of this part of the policy shall be restricted to those students who have had intermittent catheterization prescribed as a treatment for urinary or neurologic dysfunction and not for continuous bladder drainage or to obtain urine specimens for diagnostic purposes.  No employee shall be requested to catheterize any student for continuous bladder drainage or to obtain urine specimens for diagnostic purposes.

PERFORMING NONCOMPLEX HEALTH PROCEDURES

The term noncomplex health procedure shall mean a task which is safely performed according to exact directions, with no need to alter the standard procedure, and which yields predictable results.  It shall include the following:

1. Modified activities of daily living which require special instruction such as toileting/diapering, bowel/bladder training, toilet training, oral/dental hygiene, lifting/positioning, and oral feeding.
   
   

2. Health maintenance procedures such as postural drainage, percussion, tracheostomy suctioning, gastrostomy feeding and monitoring of these procedures.
   
   

3. Screenings such as growth, vital signs, hearing, vision, and scoliosis.

The School Board shall not require any employee other than a registered nurse, licensed medical physician, an appropriate licensed health professional, or, in the case of tracheostomy suctioning procedure, any hired and trained unlicensed nursing personnel or unlicensed assistive personnel as defined by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, to perform noncomplex health procedures until all the following conditions have been met:

1. A registered nurse or a licensed medical physician and, when appropriate, another licensed health professional employed by the School Board, has assessed the health status of the specific child in his/her specific educational setting and has determined that, according to the legal standards of the respective licensed health professional performing such procedure, the procedure can be safely performed, the results are predictable, and the procedure can be delegated to someone other than a licensed health professional following documented training.
   
   

2. The registered nurse or the licensed medical physician and, when appropriate, another licensed health professional shall train, in his or her area of expertise, at least two (2) such employees to perform noncomplex health procedures on the specific child in his/her educational setting.  The employees shall be given not less than four (4) hours of training in the area of noncomplex health procedures.
   
   

3. Following the training provided for in #2, no noncomplex health procedure, except screenings and activities of daily living such as toileting/diapering, toilet training, oral/dental hygiene, oral feeding, lifting, and positioning may be performed unless prescribed in writing by a physician licensed to practice medicine in the state of Louisiana or an adjacent state.
   
   The employee, other than the registered nurse, licensed medical physician, or appropriate licensed health professional shall be required to complete, under the direct supervision or coordination of a registered nurse, a minimum of three (3) satisfactory demonstrations.  Upon satisfactory completion of these noncomplex health procedures, the registered nurse, licensed medical physician, or appropriate licensed health professional and the trainee shall sign a standard form indicating that the trainee has attained the prescribed level of competency.  A copy of this form shall be kept on file by the school system.
   
   

4. Individuals who are required to perform noncomplex health procedures and have been trained according to the provisions of state law and this policy may not decline to perform such service at the time indicated except as exempted for reasons as noted by the licensed medical physician or registered nurse.  The reasons for such exemption shall be documented and certified by the licensed medical physician or a registered nurse within seventy-two (72) hours.
   
   

5. An employee shall have the right to request that another School Board employee be present while he/she is performing noncomplex health procedures for a student, to serve as a witness to the procedure.  After making such a request, the employee shall not be required to perform noncomplex health procedures without such a witness.
   
   

6. Employees who have volunteered to perform a tracheostomy suctioning procedure and who comply with the training and demonstration requirements outlined in #2 and #3 above may be allowed to perform such procedure on a child in an educational setting.

The School Board shall provide the necessary safety equipment, materials, and supplies to each employee who performs noncomplex health procedures.  Such safety equipment, materials, and supplies shall include but not be limited to gloves, anti-bacterial soaps and wipes, paper towels and masks.

For the purposes of this section of the policy, employee means any appropriate member of the education staff, and appropriate licensed health professional shall include a licensed practical nurse.

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§14:403, 17:170, 17:392.1, 17:435, 17:436, 17:436.2, 17:436.4, 17:2112, 40:31.3

Irving Independent School District v. Tatro, 104 S. Ct. 33371 (1984)

Health and Safety, Bulletin 135, §301 and §313

Louisiana Handbook for School Administrators, Bulletin 741, Louisiana Department of Education

Board minutes, 8-1-13, 2-13-14, 8-28-18, 2-9-21, 9-13-22

Ouachita Parish School Board