ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, July 10, 1996 TAG: 9607100058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
note: below
Roanoke parents, be warned.
Your children could be disciplined if you give them aspirin, Tylenol, cough syrup or other over-the-counter drugs to take during the school day without notifying school officials.
Not even School Board member John Saunders knew that such a policy existed until Tuesday.
Saunders said he has given his children antibiotics to take during the school day without the knowledge of school officials.
``I have packed lunches for them and put in antibiotics for them. I haven't gotten the message that this violated the policy,'' Saunders said. ``I got the message today.''
Superintendent Wayne Harris said both prescription and nonprescription medicines can be taken on school premises only with the knowledge of school officials and a signed request from the parents or guardians. The schools also require a physician's written order to dispense prescription medicines.
Discipline for lesser violations involving nonprescription medicines could result in a conference with the student - even suspension. Harris said the school principal would determine whether the violation was a serious offense.
``If a child has a pill in his lunch box, it would be investigated,'' he said.
For the sale or distribution of controlled drugs, such as Ritalin, students can be expelled.
Harris said school officials have explained to students that the policy applies to all medicines, not just controlled and prescription drugs, but some parents might not be aware of it.
``Could we take extra steps to notify parents about this?'' Saunders asked. ``There is a lot of confusion''about it.
Harris said schools plan an informational campaign on the policy and on revised procedures for the dispensing of medications by school personnel.
Because of the increase in the number of students taking prescription medicines, school officials have updated the policy for administering both prescription and nonprescription drugs.
Several students were expelled during the past year for possession and distribution of Ritalin, a controlled drug for the treatment of attention deficit disorder.
In one case, a student and his mother said the schools had a lax procedure for dispensing Ritalin that allowed him to take more pills than he was supposed to receive.
The city's new policy contains several safeguards to protect students and school personnel, said Mary Hackley, director of elementary education.
``It is the parents' responsibility to give the medication to us,'' Hackley said. ``We are not held responsible for the medicine until it reaches us.''
Medicines must be in their original containers stating dosage and the method of administering prescribed by the physician. The principal or other school officials must document the dispensing of all medication.
The policy requires the school nurse, principal or designee to dispense the exact amount of medication. The student must take the medicine at the time it is dispensed.
Hackley said the city's staff and schools' Parent-Teacher Associations will be briefed on the revised policy when school opens this fall.
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