| All children in Connecticut have a constitutional right to a free, suitable program of educational experiences.
As a general rule, a child with a communicable/infectious disease (e.g. AIDS/HIV infection, CMV(cytomegalovirus), hepatitis B, herpes simplex) will be allowed, with the approval of the child's physician, to attend school in a regular classroom setting and will be considered eligible for all rights, privileges, and services provided by law and existing policy of the Plainville school district.
The school nurse, with the written permission of the parent/guardian, will function as (a) the liaison with the child's physician, (b) the child's advocate in the school (i.e., assist in problem resolution, answer questions), and (c) the coordinator of services provided by other staff.
The school will respect the right to privacy of the individual and maintain strict confidentiality of any records containing health information. Therefore, knowledge that a child has a chronic infectious disease will be confined to those persons authorized by the parent/guardian and with a direct need to know. Those persons will be provided with appropriate information concerning the child's needs and confidentiality requirements.
Based upon individual circumstances special programming may be warranted. Special education will be provided if determined to be necessary by the Planning and Placement Team.
Under certain circumstances a child with a communicable infectious disease might pose a risk of transmission to others. If any such circumstances exist, the school medical advisor, in consultation with the school nurse and the child's physician, must determine whether a risk of transmission exists in school. If it is determined that a risk exists, the student shall be removed from the classroom.
A child with a communicable infectious disease may be temporarily removed from the classroom for the reasons stated above until an appropriate school program adjustment can be made, an appropriate alternative education program can be established, or the medical advisor determines that the risk has abated and the child can return to the classroom.
1. Removal from the classroom will not be construed as the only response to reduce risk of transmission. School personnel should be flexible in developing alternatives and should attempt to use the least restrictive means to accommodate the child's needs.
2. In any case of temporary removal of the student from the school setting, state regulations and school policy regarding homebound instruction will apply.
Each removal of a child with a communicable infectious disease from normal school attendance will be reviewed by the school medical advisor in consultation with the parent/guardian and the student's physician at least once every month to determine whether the condition precipitating the removal has changed.
A child with a communicable infectious disease may need to be removed from the classroom for his/her own protection when other communicable diseases (e.g., measles or chicken pox) are occurring in the school population. This decision will be made by the child's physician and parent/guardian in consultation with the school nurse and/or the school medical advisor.
Routine and standard procedures will be used to clean up after a child has an accident or injury at school. All staff will be trained to use such procedures. Blood or other body fluids emanating from any child, including ones known to have a communicable infectious disease, should be treated cautiously. Gloves should be worn when cleaning up blood spills. These spills should be disinfected with either bleach or another appropriate disinfectant and persons coming in contact with them should wash their hands afterwards. Blood soaked items should be placed in leakproof bags for washing or further disposition. Similar procedures are recommended for dealing with vomitus and fecal or urinary incontinence in any child. Handwashing after contact with a school child is not routinely recommended unless physical contact has been made with the child's blood or body fluids, including saliva. Staff who are identified to be of substantial risk of direct contact with body fluid shall be offered hepatitis B vaccinations according to OSHA regulations.
If a school staff member, other than school medical personnel, is given confidential communicable/infectious disease related information regarding a student from the student's parent/guardian or the student of majority status ("eligible student"), the school staff member shall attempt to secure a release for the sole purpose of disclosing such information to the school medical personnel.
If a school medical personnel member is given confidential communicable/infectious disease related information regarding a student by a student's parent/guardian or eligible student, and a request is made for accommodations to the student's educational program for reasons related thereto, the school medical personnel member shall inform the parent/guardian or the eligible student that a release of confidential communicable/infectious disease related information is necessary before such information may be disclosed to other educational personnel capable of assessing the need for and implementing appropriate accommodations to the student's program.
Any school staff member who obtains confidential communicable/infectious disease related information from a source other than the student, or his/her parent/guardian, shall keep such information confidential and shall not disclose such information.
No school staff member may disclose confidential communicable/infectious disease related information to other school staff members without first obtaining a release of confidential communicable/infectious disease related information.
Any record containing confidential communicable/infectious disease related information shall be maintained in a separate, confidential, medical file.
If school medical personnel determine that the health and safety of the student and/or others would be threatened if a release of confidential communicable/infectious disease related information is not obtained, the school medical personnel may seek a court order authorizing disclosure. In such cases, the confidential communicable/infectious disease related information may be disclosed as set forth in and subject to any limitation of such court order.
Any disclosure pursuant to a release shall be accompanied by a notice in writing stating, "This information has been disclosed to you from records whose confidentiality is protected by state law. State law prohibits you from making any further disclosure of it without the specific written consent of the person to whom it pertains, or as otherwise permitted by said law." A general authorization for the release of medical or other information is NOT sufficient for this purpose. Any oral disclosures should be followed by the above notice within 10 days. Except for disclosures made to a federal, state or local health officer when such disclosure is mandated or authorized by federal or state law, a notation of all disclosures shall be placed in the student's medical record or with any communicable/infectious disease related test results of the student. The student, and his or her parents/guardian, shall be informed of such disclosures on request.
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