The office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, in consultation with the Washington State Department of Health, has developed guidelines regarding the control of communicable diseases. The Mukilteo School District procedures are based on the Superintendent of Public Instruction's Infectious Disease Control Guide for School Staff.
Identification and Follow-up
- The length of absence from school for a student ill from a contagious disease is determined by the directions given in the Infectious Disease Control Guide for School Staff or instructions provided by the attending physician, or instructions from the local health district officer.
- When the principal suspects a nuisance disease such as pediculosis (lice), the principal may institute screening procedures to determine if, in fact, the disease exists. Follow-up of suspected communicable disease cases should be carried out in order to determine any action necessary to prevent the spread of the disease to additional children.
- The principal has the final responsibility for enforcing all exclusions.
Reporting at Building Level
- The principal or designee shall advise the local health district officer as required when a student has a reportable disease.
- Employees learning of a student with a sexually transmitted disease shall maintain the information in strict confidence.
Snohomish Health District provides disease surveillance and guidelines for monitoring communicable disease. Their function in the county includes infection control and support for communicable disease issues.
Snohomish Health District's Communicable Disease Department is to be notified at 425-339-5220 if any of the following occur:
- Absenteeism of the school population greater than 10% due to illness. The School Absenteeism Report form provided by Snohomish Health District is to be used to report in this situation.
- Any reported disease noted in the current Department of Health Reportable Disease "Notifiable Conditions and the Health Care Provider." WAC 246-101-101
- When symptoms of communicable disease are detected in a student who is at school, the regular procedure for the disposition of ill or injured students shall be followed.
The principal or designee will:
- Call the parent/guardian or emergency phone number to advise them of the signs and symptoms.
- Determine when the parent/guardian will pick up the student.
- Keep the student supervised until the parent/guardian arrives.
First Aid Procedures
Body fluids of all persons should be considered to contain potentially infectious agents (germs). Body fluids include blood, semen, vaginal secretions, drainage from scrapes and cuts, feces, urine, vomitus, saliva, and respiratory secretions.
Gloves must be worn when direct hand contact with body fluids is anticipated, (e.g. treating nose bleeds, bleeding abrasions), when handling clothes soiled by urine or feces and when diapering children. Used gloves must be discarded in the health room lined trash container and disposed of daily. Hands must he washed thoroughly.
The District will comply with WAC 296-823, Bloodborne Pathogens.
- Wound cleansing should be conducted in the following manner:
- Gloves must be worn when cleansing wounds which may put the staff member in contact with wound secretions;
- Soap and water are recommended for washing wounds;
- Gloves and any cleansing materials will be discarded in the health room lined trash container that is disposed of daily;
- Hands should be washed before treating the student and after removing the gloves;
- Treatment should be documented in the daily health room log.
- Gloves must be worn when cleansing wounds which may put the staff member in contact with wound secretions;
- Thermometers shall be handled in the following manner:
- Only disposable thermometers or thermometers with disposable sheath covers should be used when taking student temperatures; and
- Disposable sheath covers will be discarded in a health room lined trash container that is disposed of daily.
- Only disposable thermometers or thermometers with disposable sheath covers should be used when taking student temperatures; and
Guidelines for the Placement of Students with HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis B
For most HIV/AIDS/HBV infected students, the benefits of a normal school setting would outweigh the risks of their acquiring other potentially serious infections. Assessment of the risk of attending school in an unrestricted setting to the immunosuppressed student is best made by school staff in consultation with the student's physician who is aware of the student's immune status.
The confidentiality of information related to HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis B status is protected by state law. Students cannot be required to reveal their HIV or HBV status. Voluntary disclosure of such information shall be limited only to those persons expressly authorized by the infected person if over 14 years of age or their parents or guardians, if the infected student is under 14 years of age.
When informed that a student has HIV/AIDS/HBV infection, the school district employee will inform the parent/guardian that we wish to establish a school planning team to provide guidelines for the most appropriate school placement for the student. If the parent/guardian agrees, the school district employee will follow the procedures listed below:
- The staff person and the parent/guardian should complete the Special Needs Consent form specifying the composition of the school planning team. The authorization must be on the Special Needs Consent form. This completed form shall be maintained in a manner which protects the identity of the infected person. It shall not be part of the regular student record.
- Disclosure to any authorized individual shall include this Statement of Records Confidentiality:
"This information has been disclosed to you from records whose confidentiality is protected by state law. State law prohibits you from making further disclosure of this information without written consent of the person to whom it pertains or as otherwise permitted by state law."
If the parent/guardian refuses permission to assemble a team as proposed, the School District employee will inform the parent/guardian that advice will be sought from the local health district officer.
June 23, 1998
Revised: December 5, 2005
Revised: November 7, 2011
Revised: November 23, 2011
