In many cases it is not necessary to take medication during school hours. Check with your child’s physician to determine whether an at-school dose of a particular medication is required. If, under exceptional circumstances, a child is required to take oral medication during school hours, and the parents/guardians cannot be at school to administer the medication, only the school nurse or trained designee shall administer the medication in compliance with the following regulations.

1. All medication (prescription or non-prescription) to be given at school requires written authorization of the parent and/or guardian. Medication consent forms are available from the school or may be found on the www.ecboe.org website. Each medication given and each change in medication requires a new form.

2. School personnel are not allowed to keep bulk medications or take phone requests from parents/guardians. Only medication brought to school by the parents/guardians can be given.

3. All medication must be brought to school in original containers with a complete pharmacy label and/or manufacturer’s label and an additional label with the child’s name and dosage instructions. The medication form for over-the-counter medicine must be specific as to what the medicine is for—headache, menstrual cramps, arm pain, etc.

4. Each prescription medication must have a form signed by the physician and must be brought to school by a parent/guardian and given to the school nurse or trained designee. The physician signed form must accompany the prescription medication. Any medicine brought to school without the form signed by the physician will not be given until the form is received.

5. If a child has a medical condition that requires medication to be administered under emergency conditions, such as asthma, allergies, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc., the parents/guardians must provide the medication (Benedryl, Epi-Pen, Glucagon, etc.,) along with a “School Medication Prescriber/Parent Authorization” form signed by the physician.

The above regulations cover all prescription and non-prescription drugs, including but not limited to, Tylenol, Aspirin, Neosporin, etc. A copy of this regulation is provided to the parents/guardians upon request for administration of the medication in school.

Self administration of chronic medications is allowed under the following guidelines:

1. Medication must be a prescription. No over-the-counter medications can be self administered.
2. Medication forms must be provided yearly with parent and physician authorization.
3. The school nurse must approve self-administration of medication.
4. If at any time a student is not felt to be capable of self-administration, and/or following school policy for use, self-administration of medication will not be allowed.

School nurses, or other school staff, are not permitted to administer any alternative medication that could be considered a drug, including “natural remedies,” herbs, vitamins, dietary supplements, homeopathic medications, or medications from other countries without the following:

1. A written order from a health care provider authorized to prescribe in the state of Alabama. The written order must come on the authorized medication form required by the State of Alabama.

2. Verification that the product and requested dosage is safe for the student (considering the age, body weight & condition.)

3. Reasonable information about the therapeutic and untoward effects and interactions.