The Board of Education shall not be responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of student illness. The administration of prescribed medication and/or medically-prescribed treatments to a student during school hours will be permitted only when failure to do so would jeopardize the health of the student, the student would not be able to attend school if the medication or treatment were not made available during school hours, or if the child is disabled and requires medication to benefit from his/her educational program.

For purposes of this policy, "medication" shall include all medicines including those prescribed by a physician and any nonprescribed (over-the-counter) drugs, preparations, and/or remedies. "Treatment" refers both to the manner in which a medication is administered and to health-care procedures which require special training, such as catheterization.

Before any medication or treatment may be administered to any student during school hours, the Board shall require the written prescription from the child’s physician accompanied by the written authorization of the parent. This document shall be kept on file in the office of the school nurse, and made available to the persons designated by this policy as authorized to administer medication or treatment. No student is allowed to provide or sell any type of over-the-counter medication to another student. Violations of this rule will be considered violations of Policy 5530 – Drug Prevention and the Student Code of Conduct.

Only medication in its original container; labeled with the date, if a prescription; the student’s name; and exact dosage will be administered. The Superintendent shall determine a location in each building where the medications to be administered under this policy shall be stored, which shall be a locked storage place, unless the medications require refrigeration in which case they shall be stored in a refrigerator not commonly used by students. Parents, or students authorized in writing by physician and parents, may administer medication or treatment but only in the presence of another adult.

However, students shall be permitted to carry and use, as necessary, an asthma inhaler or an Epi-pen, provided the student has prior written permission from his/her parent and physician and has submitted Form 5330 F3, Authorization for the Possession and Use of Asthma Inhalers or Authorization for Possession and Use of Epi-pens, to the principal and any school nurse assigned to the building.

A special education employee hired on or after July 1, 1989 may be required to administer medications after receiving required training. Other school employees may elect to administer medications after receiving the required training.

The following staff members are designated as being authorized to administer medication and treatment to students:

Additionally the Board shall permit the administration by a licensed nurse of any medication requiring intravenous, subcutaneous, or intramuscular injection or the insertion of a device into the body when both the medication and the procedure are prescribed by a physician and the nurse has completed any and all necessary training.

Students who may require administration of an emergency medication may have such medication, identified as aforenoted, stored in an office identified by the school nurse and administered in accord with this policy.

All dental disease prevention programs, sponsored by the West Virginia Department of health and administered by school employees, parents, volunteers, employees of local health counties, or employees of the West Virginia Department of Health, which utilize prescription drugs for the prevention of dental disease and which are conducted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the West Virginia Department of Health are exempt from all requirements of this policy.

The Superintendent shall prepare administrative guidelines to ensure the proper implementation of this policy.

WV 18-5-22a, WV State Board Policy 2422.7 and 2422.8