The Board of Education shall not be responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of student illness. The administration of prescribed medication and/or medically-prescribed treatments to a student during school hours will be permitted only when failure to do so would jeopardize the health of the student, the student would not be able to attend school if the medication or treatment were not made available during school hours, or if the child is disabled and requires medication to benefit from his/her educational program.

For purposes of this policy, "medication" shall include all medicines including those prescribed by a licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs and any nonprescribed (over-the-counter) drugs, preparations, and/or remedies. "Treatment" refers both to the manner in which a medication is administered and to health-care procedures which require special training, such as catheterization.

Before any prescribed medication or treatment may be administered to any student during school hours, the Board shall require the written prescription from a licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs accompanied by the written authorization of the parent. Before any nonprescribed medication or treatment may be administered, the Board shall require the prior written consent of the parent along with a waiver of any liability of the District for the administration of the medication. These documents shall be kept in the office of the building administrator, and made available to the persons designated by this policy as authorized to administer medication or treatment. No student is allowed to provide or sell any type of over-the-counter medication to another student. Violations of this rule will be considered violations of Policy 5530 - Drug Prevention and of the Student Code of Conduct/Discipline Code.

Only medication in its original container; labeled with the date, if a prescription; the student's name; and exact dosage will be administered. The Superintendent shall determine a location in each building where the medications to be administered under this policy shall be stored, which shall be a locked storage place, unless the medications require refrigeration in which case they shall be stored in a refrigerator not commonly used by students. Parents, or students authorized by a licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs and parents, may administer medication or treatment.

However, students shall be permitted to carry and use, as necessary, an asthma inhaler or other emergency medication, provided the student has prior written permission from his/her parent and a licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs, the principal and any school nurse assigned to the building.

Additionally, students shall be permitted to carry and use, as necessary, an epinephrine autoinjector to treat anaphylaxis, provided the student has prior written approval from the prescriber of the medication and his/her parent/guardian, if the student is a minor, and has submitted written approval (Form 5330 F4, Authorization for the Possession and Use of Epinephrine Autoinjector (epi-pen)) to the principal and any school nurse assigned to the building. The parent/guardian or the student shall provide a back-up dose of the medication to the principal or school nurse. This permission shall extend to any activity, event, or program sponsored by the school or in which the school participates. In the event epinephrine is administered by the student or a school employee at school or at any of the covered events, a school employee shall immediately request assistance from an emergency medical service provider (911).

The following staff are designated as being authorized to administer medication treatment to students:

Additionally the Board shall permit the administration by a trained staff member or a licensed nurse or other authorized staff member of any medication requiring intravenous or intramuscular injection or the insertion of a device into the body when both the medication and the procedure are prescribed by a licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs and the nurse/staff member has completed any and all necessary training.

Students who may require administration of an emergency medication may have such medication in their possession upon written authorization of their parent(s) and physician or, such medication, upon being identified as aforenoted, may be stored in the building administrator’s office and administered in accord with this policy.

All dental disease prevention programs, sponsored by the Ohio Department of Health and administered by school employees, parents, volunteers, employees of local health districts, or employees of the Ohio Department of Health, which utilize prescription drugs for the prevention of dental disease and which are conducted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Ohio Department of Health are exempt from all requirements of this policy.

R.C. 3313.711, 3313.712, 3313.713, 4729.01

Revised 11/11/01
Revised 7/15/04
Revised 3/16/06
Revised 6/18/07