FERPA case study

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects student records and confidential documents from exposure. Dr. Carolyn Stone of the University of North Florida presented a series of case studies of FERPA related cases that pose interesting questions about the law. Here’s a good one: Ms. Sheffield disappeared with her son Richard to escape an abusive husband. Ms. Sheffield enrolled Richard in your school without a word about their problems. You published the honor roll of your fifth graders in the newspaper and Richard’s name was among them. A relative of Mr. Sheffield saw Richard’s name in the paper and contacted Mr. Sheffield. Ms. Sheffield is furious as she feels she must uproot her family and seek a new town in order to hide. She maintains that the school acted improperly by publishing her child’s name without her permission. Did the school act legally when they published Richard’s name in the newspaper?

For more information, please visit http://www.gnsca.org/Stone/cases.doc.

Follow the regulations to administer medications

On a typical school day, 5.6 percent of children receive medication in school in accordance with a variety of state and local regulations. Sixty-four percent of states and 94 percent of school districts have requirements regarding school administration of medication.

Many state and local policies permit delegation of medication administration to trained but unlicensed assistive personnel, from teachers to secretaries. But certain duties cannot be delegated, such as secured storage of controlled substances.

Self-administration policies vary state to state and within school districts. Many require student assessment for age and maturity; others require authorization from prescribers and parents; almost all include signed releases of liability.

It is essential to follow the policy in your state and locality to administer the proper medication for children and avoid liability for mismanagement.

To see the state rules for medication administration in schools, go to http://www.healthinschools.org/sh/mgmtpolicies.asp#AL.