Section 10-034.
Management of Student/Employees with Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS)/HTLV-III Infection
General Statement:
Medical research indicates that AIDS/HTLV-III
may not be transmitted through casual physical contact.
The school-aged child infected with AIDS/HTLV-III presents a negligible
risk of transmission to his/her classmates or to other adult school personnel
and thus does not affect their health and safety.
For the same reason, adult school personnel infected with AIDS/HTLV-III,
under ordinary school circumstances, will not infect school children or
co-workers. Therefore, both children
and adult school personnel infected with AIDS/HTLV-III should, in most
instances, continue to attend school and to participate fully in programs and
activities offered by District 263.
Removal of a student or an adult
employee infected with AIDS/HTLV-III from the school setting is normally not
justified. However, guidelines will
be established in Administrative Regulations for a case-by-case review process
for any student or school employee known to have AIDS/HTLV-III.
The Board grants the superintendent authority to act on the
recommendation of the Communicable Disease Evaluation Advisory Committee (CDEAC)
as established in the administrative regulation accompanying this policy
statement.
Definitions:
AIDS -
Syndrome caused by the virus HTLV-III/LAV.
INFECTED -
Persons who have been diagnosed as having AIDS or as being infected with
HTLV-III/LAV or Hepatitis B virus, and persons who are asymptomatic carriers of
such viruses (those infected by such viruses and capable of transmitting the
virus, but who have not developed any of the symptoms of infection with the
virus).
Advisory Committee:
The Superintendent of Schools shall
appoint an Evaluation Advisory Committee consisting of no less than 5 members
selected from among the following:
The Director of Special Education
The
A local
physician
A school
nurse
The
student/employee's physician
The
student/employee's parent or guardian
The
appropriate school Principal
The
appropriate school Counselor
The Superintendent of Schools will not
be a member of the Evaluation Advisory Committee, but shall have the authority
to approve or disapprove all decisions made by the Evaluation Advisory
Committee.
The Evaluation Advisory Committee will
meet as needed to determine the appropriate school placement of children or
employees infected with AIDS/HTLV-III.
Procedures:
a.
The Evaluation Advisory
Committee will review all students/employees known to have the AIDS/HTLV-III
infection. The school system and
county health department will immediately report known cases to each other,
provided a written release to exchange information between the two agencies is
obtained from the employee, or the parents/guardians of the student.
b.
The student's parent(s) or
guardian or the employee or his/her guardian must identify a physician who will
be responsible for the care of the student/employee and who will monitor the
student's/employee's medical and psychological condition.
c.
Prior to the review, the
Evaluation Advisory Committee Chairperson will obtain appropriate data from the
student/employee's designated physician, the student's parent(s) or guardian(s),
employee, and school, in a confidential manner.
This will require permission from the student's parent(s) or guardian(s),
or school employee.
d.
Included in the Evaluation
Advisory Committee meetings would be only those individuals appointed to the
committee by the Superintendent, and such others as might be deemed appropriate
and necessary by the Superintendent during the course of the meeting.
Persons involved in the education or workplace of AIDS/HTLV-III infected
students/employees should respect the individual's right to privacy.
The number of personnel who are aware of the individual's condition
should be kept to the minimum needed to assure proper care of the person and to
detect situations where the potential for transmission may increase, e.g.
bleeding injuries. It is not
necessary or appropriate to notify parents or other students, or other school
employees regarding the AIDS/HTLV-III status of any student or employee.
e.
The Evaluation Advisory
Committee will meet to determine if the student/employee presents an increased
risk of transmitting the AIDS/HTLV-III infection.
If so, they will also determine the appropriate restricted setting for
the individual.
The following items will be considered for all students.
1.
Age
2.
Behavior
3.
Neurological and mental status
4.
Physical condition
The Evaluation Advisory Committee will
recommend a restricted setting for the student if he/she meets any of the
following criteria:
1.
Lacks control of body
secretions.
2.
Exhibits behavior problems which
would increase the possibility of transmission--such as biting.
3.
Has uncoverable, oozing skin
lesions.
4.
Needs a restricted setting to
protect them from the infectious diseases of others.
5.
Needs a restricted setting to
protect them from the risk of physical or psychological harm in an unrestricted
setting.
If none of the above conditions exist,
the Evaluation Advisory Committee will recommend an unrestricted setting for the
student.
f.
The Evaluation Advisory
Committee will determine whether or not any school employee with the AIDS/HTLV-III
infection poses a potential risk of transmission to other employees or students.
If so, the Evaluation Advisory Committee will recommend a restricted
setting for the employee. If a risk
does not exist, the Evaluation Advisory Committee will recommend continued work
in the employee's regular workplace/position.
g.
Each member of the Evaluation
Advisory Committee has one vote. The
Evaluation Advisory Committee recommendation for each student/employee will be
decided by a majority of votes. In
the case of a tie vote, the Superintendent will make the final decision.
h.
The Evaluation Advisory
Committee will keep written notes of its meetings.
Recommendations will be made, in writing, to the Superintendent.
The Superintendent must review and approve, in writing, the decision of
the Evaluation Advisory Committee. It
will be the responsibility of the Superintendent to see that a final decision is
reached regarding a restricted or unrestricted setting for the student/employee.
Attendance at all Evaluation Advisory Committee meetings shall be limited
to those persons appointed to the committee by the Superintendent, in order to
protect the privacy of the student or employee.
i.
During the review process, an
infected student/employee may be excluded from school/work.
Exclusion will be done at the Superintendent's discretion, after
consultation with the Chairperson of the Evaluation Advisory Committee.
If such exclusion is anticipated to be for more than 10 school days, the
Evaluation Advisory Committee will recommend an interim educational placement.
Monitoring:
1.
The student's/employee's
Principal or Supervisor will be responsible for notifying the Evaluation
Advisory Committee Chairperson of any changes in the student/employee which
would require a reassessment of the educational setting.
2.
The Evaluation Advisory
Committee will call the student's/employee's physician and Principal/Supervisor
as needed to determine if there have been changes in the student's/employee's
health status which have gone unreported. The
Chairperson will also maintain contacts with the student/employee as needed.
This will include the parent(s) or guardian(s) in the case of a student.
3.
If any changes in the health
status of a student/employee with the AIDS/HTVL infection occur which may
increase the risk of transmission, the Evaluation Advisory Committee shall
immediately contact the Superintendent and request that a meeting of the
Evaluation Advisory Committee be convened to discuss the changes in the health
status of the student/employee. The
Superintendent shall have the authority to approve the calling of a committee
meeting by the committee chairperson. The
student/employee may be excluded from school or workplace at this time (see
section 4j).
Outbreaks Of Communicable Diseases:
If a communicable disease (e.g.
measles, chicken pox, hepatitis, etc.) occurs in a school or classroom which
could be threatening to an infected student/employee, the infected student's
parent(s) or guardian(s), or the employee, and the student's/employee's
physician will be notified so the AIDS/HTLV-III infected individual can be
excluded from the school during the outbreak.
Approved by Board