Stevensville School District 

STUDENTS

Communicable Diseases

Note: For purposes of this policy, the term “communicable disease” refers to the diseases identified in 37.114.203, ARM, Reportable Diseases, with the exception of common colds and flu.

In all proceedings related to this policy, the District will respect a student’s right to privacy.

Although the District is required to provide educational services to all school-age children who reside within its boundaries, it may deny attendance at school to any child diagnosed as having a communicable disease that could make a child’s attendance harmful to the welfare of other students.  The District also may deny attendance to a child with suppressed immunity in order to protect the welfare of that child when others in a school have an infectious disease, which, although not normally life threatening, could be life threatening to a child with suppressed immunity.

The Board recognizes that communicable diseases that may afflict students range from common childhood diseases, acute and short-term in nature, to chronic, life-threatening diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.  The District will rely on advice of the public health and medical communities in assessing the risk of transmission of various communicable diseases to determine how best to protect the health of both students and staff.

The District will manage common communicable diseases in accordance with Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services guidelines and communicable diseases control rules.  The District may temporarily exclude from school attendance a student who exhibits symptoms of a communicable disease that is readily transmitted in a school setting.

Students who complain of illness at school may be referred to a school nurse or other responsible person designated by the Board and may be sent home as soon as a parent or person designated on a student’s emergency medical authorization form has been notified.  The District reserves the right to require a statement from a student’s primary care provider authorizing a student’s return to school.

When information is received by a staff member or a volunteer that a student is afflicted with a serious communicable disease, the staff member or volunteer will promptly notify a school nurse or other responsible person designated by the Board to determine appropriate measures to be taken to protect student and staff health and safety.  A school nurse or other responsible person designated by the Board, after consultation with and on advice of public health officials, will determine which additional staff members, if any, have need to know of the affected student’s condition.

Only those persons with direct responsibility for the care of a student or for determining appropriate educational accommodation will be informed of the specific nature of a condition, if it is determined that such individuals need to know this information.

The District may notify parents of other children attending a school that their children have been exposed to a communicable disease without identifying the particular student who has the disease.

Legal Reference:
37.114.101, et seq., ARM Communicable Disease Control

Policy History:
Adopted on: February 12, 2002
Reviewed on: June 12, 2012
Revised on: