Arlington Heights Elementary District 25 officials announced new procedures for how medication will be administered during the school day, after a nurse was fired for dispensing the wrong meds to students.
Namely, prescription controlled substances that are dropped off at schools by parents must be verified not only by the school nurse, but by a witness.
The witness can be another nurse or a school administrator, according to the new rules.
That second person also will be required to do a weekly check of the nurse’s office to verify that medicine bottle contents match a written description of the prescription and amounts. A parent can request a check, too.
If a discrepancy is found, the school administrator will initiate an investigation and contact the student’s parents. If any controlled substance is missing, district officials say they will notify Arlington Heights police.
The school board in May fired a Westgate Elementary School nurse who remains under police investigation for the potential misuse of prescription medication that was intended for students. No criminal charges have been announced.
“While that action addressed the immediate problem, we, along with our district administrators, knew there was more to be done,” said school board President Greg Scapillato. “We knew stronger oversight was needed at all levels of our school district. We needed to take further actions to begin healing the breach of trust.”
Led by Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Diane Kaffka, administrators, nurses and legal counsel for the district recommended the new medication management procedures after reviewing the old ones this summer.
The new rules also call for any controlled medication to be stored in the school health office in a locked medical box and cabinet that would only be accessible to nurses and school administrators. The district also is purchasing specialty locked bags if students need to take medicine on field trips.
Also new this school year, any prescription medication dropped off by parents will be limited to a 30-day supply. That applies to controlled substances, such as Adderall used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and emergency medications like Albuterol for students with asthma, Kaffka said.
Any over-the-counter medication brought to school — like pain and allergy relief pills — must now be in sealed, original packaging, she added.
Kaffka said the district now differentiates its procedures based on the type of medication, but previously didn’t.
New Superintendent Brian Kaye sent the complete 13-page list of medication procedures to parents Wednesday, following Kaffka’s presentation at a board meeting Tuesday night.
The first day of school is Aug. 29.