Health Services
The health and safety of our students is a top priority. Our policies serve to protect our students, faculty, and staff members from injury and illness. If you have questions or concerns regarding our policies, please turn to us as a resource.
School personnel may not dispense prescription medications or over-the-counter medications, such as aspirin and cough syrup. In special circumstances, we can administer medication according to the following guidelines:
- We require written permission of a parent or guardian. Please complete the Request to Administer Medication form, or contact your child’s school to obtain a form. We will confirm statements via a telephone call to parents as necessary.
- We will store all medications in the school office.
- We require a parent/guardian to deliver medication in its original container and labeled with: a) student's name, b) name of medicine, c) dosage, and d) doctor's name.
- We permit students with acute or chronic disease or medical condition to possess and self-administer medication in an emergency situation while on school grounds or off school grounds at a school activity, function, or event. Please provide us with written authorization from the student's physician allowing the student to self-administer the medication. We require a new authorization form annually.
- We will only release medication from our office to the student's parent/guardian or to an individual who is 18 years of age or older and who has been designated, in writing, by the student's parent/guardian to receive the medication. If it is necessary for your child to transport medication to and from school, please request form 5330 FS from your school office to obtain authorization.
We will take the following steps if a child becomes ill or injured at school and requires special medical attention:
- Give emergency first aid as required.
- Notify the nurse. The nurse or designee will evaluate the situation and determine the disposition of each case.
- Contact the parent.
- In case the parent or relative cannot be contacted at the first report of an illness or injury, the school may send the child home if adult supervision is available at home.
- In case a parent or relative contacted has no means of getting the sick or injured child home, the school may send the child home in accordance with the parent's request.
- If the parent or relative cannot be contacted in case of illness or injury, the school may secure the services of emergency medical services (Rescue 20) or as previously designated in writing by the parent, but it shall be made clear that the school assumes no responsibility for the emergency services or fees they may charge.
- All school personnel should be informed (on a need-to-know basis) of children who have special health problems that may require special attention when an injury or an illness occurs (hemophiliacs, diabetics, epileptics, allergies, etc.) If the school nurse determines that emergency medical service is needed, Rescue 20 will be contacted. The Rescue 20 emergency team will determine if the child should be transported to a local medical facility or to an out-of-county facility, depending on the nature of the injury/illness.
- Report all accidents resulting in personal injury that require special medical attention as follows:
- Report all personal injury accidents that require special medical attention, occurring at school, on the way to or from school, or at school-related activities.
- Complete and submit the incident report form for the principal’s signature at the time of the accident, before forwarding it to the central office.
As mandated by law, Jennings County School Corporation requires that every child enrolled in our schools must be immunized against diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, measles, rubella, poliomyelitis, mumps, and hepatitis B. We may not permit a student to attend school beyond the first day of school without furnishing a written statement of immunization history.
We require parents to provide either documentation of full immunizations or a written statement and a time schedule approved by a physician or health department of immunizations in process.
We require a medical or religious exemption on file for students with incomplete immunizations records due to medical contraindications or religious beliefs.
The Safe Drinking Water Act passed by Congress in 1986 requires notification to all consumers about possible lead contamination in drinking water. The Jennings County School Corporation district continues to carefully monitor its water quality according to the following steps: scheduled testing of drinking water, replacing lead pipes and service connections, and making sure that lead does not become a problem in the drinking water.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets drinking water standards and has determined that lead is a health concern at certain levels of exposure. The standard is 0.050 parts per million (pm). Part of the purpose of this notice is to inform all consumers of the potential adverse health effects of lead regardless of whether or not the drinking water is in violation of the current standard. There is concern by the EPA and others about lead in drinking water because too much can cause serious damage to the human brain, kidneys, nervous system, and red blood cells. The greatest risk, even with short-term exposure, is to young children and pregnant women.
If you have any questions about the drinking water or the testing information, please call our administrative support services at (812) 346-4483.