The Board of Education recognizes that control of the spread of communicable disease spread through casual contact is essential to the well-being of the school community and to the efficient County operation. In developing this policy, the Board has sought the assistance of school nurses, school personnel, parents and guardians, public health and medical personnel and community leaders.

Good hand hygiene is the single-most effective procedure to prevent the spread of communicable diseases in the school setting. An allowance of time for hand washing should be incorporated into the daily routine of all students in the County schools, especially before eating, after blowing the nose, coughing, or sneezing, after going to the bathroom and as deemed necessary by the school.

Students in grades Pre-K to 2^nd shall be taught to wash their hands as outlined in the Basic and Specialized Health Care Procedures Manual for West Virginia Public Schools that accompanies West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2422.7, Standards For Basic and Specialized Health Care Procedures.

It is best practice to wash the hands with soap or antibacterial soap and clean running water for twenty (20) seconds. However, if soap and clean water are not available, use of an alcohol-based product may be used to clean the hands. Alcohol-based hand rubs significantly reduce the number of germs on skin and are fast acting.

For purposes of this policy, "casual-contact communicable disease" shall include

In order to protect the health and safety of the students, County personnel, and the community at large, the Board shall follow all State statutes and Health Department regulations which pertain to immunization and other means for controlling casual-contact communicable disease spread through normal interaction in the school setting.

If a student exhibits symptoms of a communicable disease, the nurse, in collaboration with the Principal will isolate the student in the building and contact the parents/guardians.

Additionally, the teacher may remove from the classroom and the principal or school nurse shall exclude from the school any student or students known to have or suspected of having any infectious diseases known to be spread by casual contact and is considered to be a health threat to the school population. The Superintendent has the authority to exclude a staff member from school when reliable evidence or information from a qualified source confirms him/her of having a potential communicable disease that is known to be spread by any form of casual contact and is considered a health threat to the school population. Such a student or staff member shall be excluded in accordance with guidelines of American Academy of Pediatrics and West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources unless his/her physician approved school attendance and the condition is no longer considered contagious.

All reportable communicable diseases will be referred to the County Health Department, without disclosure of personally identifiable information, as set forth in West Virginia Bureau for Public Health Legislative Rule 64CSR7, Reportable Diseases, Events and Conditions.

Nothing in this policy should be construed to deprive students of the constitution right to a public education nor impair the employment rights of staff members.

The Superintendent shall develop administrative guidelines for the control of communicable disease which shall include:

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2423
WV Code 16-3-4, 16-3-4a, 16-3-5, 16-3C-1 et seq., 18A-5-1, 18-2-5, 18-5-9
WV Code 18-5-22, 18-5-34
64 CSR 7

Revised 12/1/08
Revised 11/28/11