FILE: GBRAA
COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
All employees of the Auburn City Schools shall cooperate with the Superintendent and duly appointed panels in the administration of adopted policies and regulations designed to promote the health and safety of school children and staff members.
Students or employees exposed to or contracting communicable or infectious diseases will be handled on an individual basis. Auburn City Schools’ employees shall report to their principal or supervisor all cases of confirmed or suspected communicable or infectious diseases among employees or students. The principal or supervisor will immediately inform the Superintendent. This information is to be considered confidential and not released to other parties except on a "need to know basis." The name of the school, student or employee, teacher or supervisor and the identification of the communicable or infectious disease are confidential.
The Superintendent will be the official spokesperson and will issue any news releases.
Upon being informed, the Superintendent, as appropriate or consistent with the policy, will convene a review panel consisting of:
The individual’s physician
A Lee County Health Department official
An Auburn City Schools nurse
The school principal or supervisor
The child’s parents/guardians or the infected employee’s designee
The Auburn City Schools Review Panel will, after notice, convene within two working days. A decision will be forwarded within five days to the Superintendent unless extenuating circumstances cause a delay. Extenuating circumstances could include unavailability of medical tests, secondary infections discovered during the review, panelists unable to attend the meeting and other unforeseen difficulties.
The Review Panel’s decision should include at least the following:
Appropriate placement of student or employee
Any safety precautions that must be taken
Risk of others in the classroom
If an employee, student or the student’s parents/guardian do not agree to the required medical evaluation as determined by the Review Panel, or do not cooperate with the Review Panel by making available all of the employee’s or student’s medical records, then exclusion from school or suspension or termination from work may be recommended.
If the employee or student’s parents/guardian wish to appeal the Review Panel’s decision, a written notice to the Superintendent must be made. If there is dissatisfaction with the Superintendent’s decision, an appeal to the Board may be initiated by written notice within three days to the Superintendent. The Board will convene in a timely manner to consider the appeal. The Board’s written decision will be forwarded by the Superintendent to the employee or parent/guardian within three days.
Upon placement on the job or in the classroom, the individual’s physician, an Auburn City Schools nurse and principal or supervisor will periodically monitor the situation. The Superintendent may request periodic reports relative to the monitoring of the placement of the employee or student.
All employees will be given annually in-service training pertaining to the dangers of infection from airborne and blood borne pathogens.
ADOPTED: August 13, 2002
LEGAL REF: Code of Alabama 16-29-1; State Department of Public Health
Guideline, Jan. 3, 1983; State Department of Education
Memorandum, April 14, 1978; Control of Communicable Diseases In Man, p. 447