| Purpose
The School Board and the School District are committed to the provision
of a healthful environment for students and employees. In fulfillment
of that commitment, the School Board has consulted and will continue
to consult appropriate medical, educational, legal and governmental
authorities. The following guidelines are a result of this consultation.
Definitions
Carrier -- A person who, without any apparent symptoms of a communicable
disease, harbors an infectious agent and may serve as a source of
infection.
Communicable disease -- An illness caused by an infectious agent
or its toxic products, which is transmitted directly or indirectly
to a susceptible host from a carrier, infected person, animal or arthropod
or through the agency of an intermediate host or vector through the
inanimate environment.
Communicable period -- The time during which a carrier or infected
person can transmit an infectious agent directly or indirectly to
another person.
Contact -- A person exposed to the possibility of acquiring a communicable
disease because of his or her association with a carrier or infected
person.
Infected person -- A person who evidences any symptom of a communicable
disease.
Reasonable accommodation -- Any addition to or modification of existing
facilities, equipment, programs, schedules, policies, procedures,
methods, operations or services that would enable a carrier, contact
or infected person to remain in his or her existing classroom, facility
or position or to enter a classroom, facility or position comparable
to that which he or she would have entered were he or she not a carrier,
contact or infected person. Reasonable accommodations, however, do
not require additions or modifications that would impose undue hardship
on the operation of School District programs. In determining whether
an addition or modification would impose "undue hardship,"
the School Board will consider the following factors:
- the cost of the change;
- the ability of the School District to cover the cost of the change;
- the degree to which the change will disrupt or diminish the effectiveness
of School District programs;
- the number of students, faculty and programs affected by the
change:
- the educational and other needs of the students affected by the
change;
- the extent to which the change will reduce the risk to health
and safety;
- the duration and severity of the risk to health and safety; and
- any other matter that the School Board deems to be relevant.
Significant risk to health and safety -- Risk that is posed by the
presence of a carrier, contact or infected person and that is significant
enough to justify a change in the employment status of a carrier,
contact or infected person. In determining the significance of a risk,
the School Board will consider reasonable medical judgments on the
following factors:
- the manner by which the infectious agent is transmitted;
- the duration of the communicable period;
- the severity of the risk to others; and
- the probability of transmission to others.
Applicability
This policy will apply to all students, employees and job applicants
who have received an offer of employment in all programs conducted
by the School District.
Individual Consideration
The School District will consider each case, individually, consistent
with these guidelines.
Confidentiality
In accordance with state and federal law, the School District will
keep confidential all student records of carriers, contacts and infected
persons. The School District will disclose confidential information
only to those School District personnel who need the information to
protect themselves and others from significant risk to health and
safety. The School District personnel will not reveal any confidential
information to any other person unless the Superintendent or designee
authorizes them to do so.
Hiring and Retention Of Employees
The following provisions will apply both to employees of the School
District and to job applicants who have received an offer of employment.
None of these provisions, however, will preempt or supersede an inconsistent
term in a collective bargaining agreement:
- The School District will continue to employ a carrier, contact
or infected person in the position that he or she held before he
or she became a carrier, contact or infected person, unless removal
is recommended by the Superintendent or designee and is approved
by the School Board after consultation with the school physician.
- The School Board will approve a removal only if, after reasonable
accommodation, the carrier, contact or infected person would pose
a significant risk to health and safety or would substantially lack
the ability to perform the essential duties of his or her position.
- Before the Superintendent or designee recommends removal of an
employee who poses a significant risk to health and safety or would
substantially lack the ability to perform the essential duties of
his or her position, he or she will require the employee to submit
to a medical examination by a licensed physician. The employee will
disclose to the Superintendent or designee the results of the examination
along with any other related medical records.
- If the School Board approves the removal of an employee under
subsections 1 and 2 of this section, the School District will either
reassign the employee to other duties, place the employee on leave
of absence with School Board approval or commence proceedings to
dismiss or suspend the employee.
- A reassignment will allow the employee to assume as many of the
duties of his or her existing position as is possible. Nothing in
these guidelines, however, will entitle an employee to reassignment.
The availability of reassignment to other work will depend upon
the reasonable needs of the School District, as determined by the
Superintendent or designee.
- The School Board will approve placement on leave of absence only
if sufficient other work is not available for the employee to perform
or pursuant to its policies with respect to leaves of absence.
- The School District may commence dismissal or suspension proceedings
only when its reasons for doing so would justify commencement of
dismissal or suspension proceedings, under the Public School Code
or other applicable laws, against an employee who is not a carrier,
contact or infected person.
- The School District will not refuse employment to an applicant
on the ground that the applicant is a carrier, contact or infected
person, unless the Superintendent or designee determines that, even
with reasonable accommodation, employment of the applicant would
pose a significant risk to health and safety or that, even with
reasonable accommodation, the applicant would be unable to perform
the essential duties of the position. In determining whether the
applicant would pose a significant risk to health and safety or
would be unable to perform essential duties, the Superintendent
or designee will consult with the applicant, the school physician
and the employee who would serve as the applicant's immediate supervisor.
- All job applicants who have received an offer of employment will
undergo a medical examination by a licensed physician and will disclose
to the Superintendent or designee the results of the examination,
along with any other related medical records.
- The School District will keep confidential all employment records
of carriers, contacts and infected persons. Information obtained
regarding the medical condition or history derived from entrance
medical examinations must be collected and maintained on separate
forms in separate medical files and must be treated as confidential
records. The School District will disclose confidential information
only to those School District personnel who need the information
to protect themselves and others from significant risk to health
and safety. School District personnel will not reveal confidential
information to any other person unless the Superintendent or designee
or his or her designee authorizes them to do so.
Education
The Superintendent or designee will develop a program to educate parents
or guardians, students and staff about the detection, treatment, transmission,
risks and prevention of communicable diseases.
The program will also inform parents or guardians, students and staff
about the communicable disease policies and in developing an education
program, the Superintendent or designee will refer to Chapter 27 of
the regulations adopted by the Department of Health, entitled "Communicable
and Noncommunicable Diseases," 28 Pa. Code §§ 27.1
et seq., and to any relevant guidelines issued by the Federal Centers
for Disease Control.
Evaluation
The Director of Special Education and Support Services will periodically
report to the Superintendent regarding the effectiveness of these
guidelines and will make recommendations for their revision in response
to developments in medical research and treatment. |