Medication rules change at New Town schools
By Jerry W. Kram
New Town Schools Superintendent Marc Bluestone remembers years back when he was the Assistant Principal at Edwin Loe Elementary School and all he needed was a parent’s verbal permission to give a child an insulin injection.
"That’s completely changed now," Bluestone said.
The topic came up at Tuesday’s New Town School Board meeting because the state had finally sent the school district the new forms required to implement a mandated school medication policy. The state required public schools to change their policy and the School Board implemented that policy before the school year began. However, the state didn’t have the forms it required the schools to use ready for the beginning of the school year.
"We have been in kind of a gray area," Bluestone said. "Now that we are implementing the new policies, we will be getting the information out to parents and saying this is what they need to do."
Under the new policy, parents must fill out a form telling the school what medications their child will need during the school day and how they are to be administered. There is a separate form for emergency medications such as asthma inhalers or epinephrine auto injectors for allergies. All of the medication is kept under lock and key by the school administration. Students are not allowed to have any medication in their possession, even over the counter products like Tylenol or antihistamines.
"Any medication, whether it is over the counter or prescriptions, they will have to check in," Bluestone said. "Not only will we need information from (the student’s) health provider, but we will need the parent’s signature before we can start administering it."
