5013 Communicable Diseases
Many communicable diseases, including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and/or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), require special consideration in the school environment. The Board of Education seeks to provide an environment which is safe for all students and employees, while maintaining the dignity and privacy of individuals infected with communicable diseases.
Current research indicates that the risk of transmitting HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases is low in the school setting when appropriate procedures are followed. All school employees are required to follow the district’s Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Control Plan at all times when there is a potential for exposure to any bodily fluid. Parents/guardians will be notified in the event a minor student has been exposed to a potentially infectious agent.
Information regarding an individual’s communicable disease status will be maintained in a separate confidential file
and will only be disclosed:
- in compliance with Oklahoma law;
- with the express approval of the superintendent.
Information about an individual’s communicable disease status will not be included in the individual’s regular school or health records. Any individual who disclosed another person’s communicable disease status without the superintendent’s express authorization will face disciplinary action.
Communicable Diseases for Which Isolation or Quarantine is Required
No student having a communicable disease, requiring a period of isolation or quarantine, shall enter or remain at a district school site. This shall be in effect until the order for quarantine or isolation has expired or permission for entry and return to the school site and activities has been given by the local county health department or State Department of Health. It shall be the responsibility of the student’s parent(s) or legal guardians and District administration - not the student’s teacher - to exclude the student. In the event a student known to be infected arrives at a school site or, after their arrival, is discovered to be infected - a school site administrator shall discretely remove the student from the class or activity, place the student in a monitored room where the student will not come into close contact with non-infected persons, and contact the student’s parent or legal guardian to make arrangements to send the student home.
Student Admission
No student will be denied an education or participation in the activities of the district based solely on his/her status as a student infected with a communicable disease. In the event the school administration learns that a student may have a communicable disease, the superintendent or designee will consult with the Oklahoma State
Department of Health regarding an appropriate educational environment for the student. All decisions regarding an appropriate educational setting for the student will be made on a case-by-case basis following established policies and procedures for students with chronic health problems or other disabilities. The placement decision will be periodically reviewed, and will also be reviewed at any time a staff member observes behavior which might pose a reasonable risk of transmitting the communicable disease.
Reference: OKLA. STAT. tit. 63 § 1-507 (2021) Revised 6/10/96
Revised 12/14/98
Revised 12/9/13
Revised 12/9/19
Revised 12/13/21