A few policies related to student health are among those set to get an update at Knox Community Schools. During Tuesday’s school board meeting, Superintendent Dr. William Reichhart presented a number of recommendations from policy consultant NEOLA.
He said an update to the emergency medical authorization policy would reflect a distinction between a “do not resuscitate” order and a physician’s order for scope of treatment. “There is a law that if a parent would have a DNR on one of our students here, by law, we still have to resuscitate them, even though there’s a DNR on them, according to this policy,” Reichhart explained.
Meanwhile, the corporation’s policy on the care of students with diabetes is being brought in line with the state’s current guidelines for diabetes management and treatment plans. A minor update is also being made to the policy regarding students with chronic health conditions.
A couple policies related to statewide assessments are also set to get some changes. “5410/Promotion, Placement, and Retention: This policy has been revised to reflect the possible determinations and appropriate actions that a school corp may take concerning kids who fail the IREAD assessment,” Reichhart said. “And this year, we have 20 students who did not pass the first time. They’re currently in our summer school program, and hopefully, they will pass that test again.”
A proposed update to the transportation policy would officially require the use of seat belts in any school buses or vehicles equipped with them.
Additionally, some guidelines are being recommended for the use of crowdfunding. “This is when you do fundraisers and you’re requiring students to sell through Internet or through electronic means, I guess is the best way of explaining it,” Reichhart told board members. “And this just says that there’s privacy protection for students and staff, if they participated in crowdfunding-type activities. And I really don’t know what those look like.”
Other policies set to get minor updates include those regarding homeless students, children and youth in foster care, and Title I programs. The NEOLA policy updates will be up for the Knox School Board’s approval on June 17.
