Health

Lexington County School District One is committed to the health and well-being of all students. Our dedicated team of registered nurses provide care and support to students across all Lexington One schools, and they play a vital role in ensuring a safe and healthy learning environment for all.

Use the tabs below to find more information on required immunizations, as well as forms you may need for your student.

Vaccinations and Immunizations

In order for a child to be admitted to any public school, 5-year-old Kindergarten through Grade 12, that child must have the following required vaccinations and immunizations.

DIPHTHERIA, TETANUS, AND PERTUSSIS (DTP, DT, DTAP, TD OR TDAP)

Four (4) dose minimum — One dose must be on or after the child’s fourth birthday.

For unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated children 7 years of age and older, refer to currently published Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Catch-Up Schedule for number of doses necessary to complete diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis series, and meet this requirement.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control requires all seventh-, eighth-, ninth-, 10th-, 11th- and 12th-graders to have one dose of a Tdap booster on or after their 10th birthday. Tdap also protects them from tetanus and diphtheria.

In order to register your seventh-grader, you will need to bring a completed South Carolina Certificate of Immunization that shows that your seventh-grader has received a Tdap booster.

POLIO (IPV/OPV)

Three dose minimum — One dose must be on or after child’s fourth birthday.

The final dose in the IPV series should be on the fourth birthday or older, regardless of the number of previous doses.

Students already enrolled in Grades 11–12 are in compliance if they have had: three (3) doses with one dose on or after the fourth birthday OR four (4) doses before the fourth birthday.

MEASLES, MUMPS, AND RUBELLA (MMR)

Two (2) dose minimum — Both doses must be received on or after the first birthday and separated by at least four (4) weeks.

HEPATITIS A

Two (2) dose minimum — Two doses of the Hepatitis A vaccine will be required for all 5-year-old kindergarten, first and second grade students. Both doses must have been received on or after the first birthday and separated by at least 6 months.

HEPATITIS B

Three (3) dose minimum — The Hepatitis B vaccine, required for all students, must be received at the proper intervals.

VARICELLA (CHICKENPOX)

Two (2) dose minimum — Two doses of the Varicella vaccine are now required for all 5-year-old kindergarten and first-, second-, third-, fourth-, fifth-, sixth-, seventh- and eighth grade students. Both doses must have been received on or after the first birthday and separated by four weeks.

Students in Grades 9 through 12 must have received one (1) dose of the Varicella vaccine on or after their 1st birthday. Students with a documented case of chickenpox are exempt from this requirement.

Follow these steps to make sure your child is ready for school.

1. Schedule your child’s well visit/physical early before school starts. Spring or summer break is a great time to get this done so you won’t run into any delays once school begins.
2. Ask your child’s healthcare provider what vaccines your child needs. Some vaccines are not required for school attendance but are highly recommended by physicians for all students. When every student receives an annual flu vaccine it protects schools from flu outbreaks. Adolescents also need the HPV vaccine to protect against cancers. Vaccines are also needed to protect against meningitis.
3. Obtain a new South Carolina Certificate of Immunization every time your child has a shot.
4. Give a copy of the new South Carolina Certificate of Immunization to your child’s school.

Forms you may need

Student Drug Testing Policy

Lexington One Board of Trustees approved a student drug testing policy which went into effect during the 2015–2016 school year. This policy authorizes district administrators to implement a random drug testing program that screens students participating in school-sponsored interscholastic athletic competitions for the use of several drugs.

These random drug screenings test for any substance defined as a controlled substance by either South Carolina or federal law, to include:

marijuana (THC)
opiates
cocaine
methamphetamines
phencyclidine (PCP)
MDMA (Ecstasy)
unauthorized prescription medications

This program is designed to deter drug use among students participating in school-sponsored interscholastic athletic competitions with drug abuse and counseling. While the misuse of drugs is a potential problem for all students, unique pressures and risks exist for students participating in athletics.

Before a student can become eligible for participation in a school-sponsored interscholastic athletic competition in grades 7–12, the student and parent/legal guardian must complete a signed consent form consenting to testing. Failure to consent to participation in the drug testing program automatically excludes the student from participation in any school-sponsored interscholastic athletic competition.

DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS

For those students who test positive for any qualifying controlled substances will be subject to disciplinary actions. Discipline will be given based on the number of offenses as detailed below:

First offense — When a student tests positive, the principal, parent and student will meet. The student will be ineligible to participate in all school-sponsored interscholastic athletic competitions and school practices for 14 calendar days from the date of notification of positive test results, the student must test negative for drugs using the district’s testing agency before resuming participation in any practice or competition, and the student will participate in drug counseling provided by a certified clinical counselor.
Second offense — When a student tests positive a second time, the principal, parent and student will meet. The student will be ineligible to participate in all school-sponsored interscholastic athletic competitions and school practices for 90 calendar days from the date of notification of positive test results, the student must test negative for drugs using the district’s testing agency before resuming participation in any practice or competition, and the student will participate in drug counseling provided by a certified clinical counselor.
Third offense — When a student tests positive a third time, the principal, parent and student will meet. The student will be ineligible to participate in all school-sponsored interscholastic athletic competitions and school practices for one calendar year from the date of notification of positive test results, the student must test negative for drugs using the district’s testing agency before resuming participation in any practice or competition, and the student will participate in drug counseling provided by a certified clinical counselor.
Fourth offense — When a student tests positive a fourth time, the principal, parent and student will meet. The student will be declared permanently ineligible to participate in all school-sponsored interscholastic athletic competitions and school practices from the date of notification of positive test results.

Special Healthcare Needs

Lexington District One’s goal is to help each student succeed in school. Some students have health needs that must be taken care of during the school day.

Many health care services can be provided to students at school, which helps students stay in school. Sections 59-63-80 and 59-63-90 of the 1976 Code of Laws of South Carolina, amended May 26, 2005, require school districts to let parents/legal guardians know about the rights that students with special health care needs may have if they qualify for services related to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and/or medical homebound regulations. The law also requires individual health care plans for students with special health care needs.

Individual Health Care Plans

Section 59-63-80 of the Code of Laws of South Carolina requires school districts to adopt a policy that students with special health care needs have individual health care plans. The law also requires school districts to adopt a policy for authorizing a student to self-monitor and self-administer medication as prescribed by the student’s health care provider unless there is sufficient evidence that unsupervised self-monitoring or self-medicating would seriously jeopardize the safety of the student or others. The requirement regarding self-monitoring and self-administration of medication does not mean that all students must self-monitor and/or self-administer their medications, but gives that option to students who meet the requirements of their school district’s policy and whose parents want them to self-monitor or self-administer medication.

Individual health care plans are plans written by a registered nurse for meeting the health monitoring and care needs of a specific student during the school day or at school-sponsored functions. The nurse works with the student and the student’s parent/guardian, health care providers and teachers to write an individual health care plan that will meet the student’s special health care needs. Individual health care plans should be written for students who have health conditions who are medically fragile, require complicated or lengthy health procedures during the school day, who require several contacts with the nurse or health assistant during the school day, who have conditions that may require emergency care, who have medications or treatments ordered for greater than 14 consecutive days, or who have been granted permission to self-medicate and/or self-monitor in accordance with the local school board’s policy.

For more information about individual health care plans, talk with your child’s school nurse or the district’s Nursing and Health Services Director Amy Wood.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) is a civil rights law designed to protect individuals with disabilities from discrimination for reasons related to their disabilities. Section 504 requires school districts to provide a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities. The FAPE must meet the students' individual educational needs as adequately as the needs of non-disabled students. To be eligible under Section 504, a student must be determined to: (1) have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, or (2) have a record of such an impairment, or (3) be regarded as having such an impairment.

An eligibility decision is made by a multidisciplinary team consisting of persons who are knowledgeable about the student, the meaning of the evaluation data, and the placement options. Most often, the team will include a parent/guardian, the student (as appropriate), a teacher, a school administrator, a school nurse, and a school counselor. If the student is determined to be eligible under Section 504, the team may develop an individual accommodation plan to outline the services and/or accommodations needed to ensure that the student has an opportunity to receive an education comparable to that of his/her nondisabled peers.

You can find more information about Section 504 by visiting the U.S. Department of Education website or by contacting the Section 504 Coordinator for Lexington County School District One, Dr. Sarah Longshore, 803-821-5628, slongshore@lexington1.net.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

IDEA provides eligible students with disabilities, who are determined to need special education and related services to benefit from their educational programs, the legal right to receive a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. Students ages 3 through 21 years may be eligible for services under IDEA if they need special education and related services to learn. Using the criteria in the State Board of Education Regulation 42-243.1, a multidisciplinary team, including the parents/legal guardians, decides if a student is eligible and identifies the health services, if any, that are necessary to enable the student to attend school, and to participate fully and safely in educational activities. The team then develops an individualized education program for the student. A diagnosed illness or special health care need alone will not qualify a student for eligibility under IDEA.

Find more information about special education services in South Carolina on the South Carolina Department of Education website.

Medical Homebound

The district offers homebound instruction for students who cannot attend school because of accident, illness, or pregnancy. To be considered for homebound instruction, a licensed physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant must complete the Medical Homebound Application certifying that the student is unable to attend school even with transportation but may profit from instruction given in the home or hospital.

Parents/guardians may request the Medical Homebound Application through the Department of Special Services. After a physician has completed the Medical Homebound Application, the parent/guardian should submit the form to the Department of Special Services located at 420 Hendrix Street, Lexington, SC 29072. Alternatively, the completed form may be scanned and emailed to homebound@lexington1.net.

Students approved for full-time homebound services will be provided, at a minimum, five hours of homebound instruction per week. There is no limit to the amount of instruction that may be provided, and the number of hours to be provided will be based on the student’s individual need regardless of full-time or intermittent status.

For mental health conditions, medical homebound is not initially approved for more than 45 calendar days. If the mental health diagnosis indicates that medical homebound instruction will be needed for more than the initial 45-day period, an extension may be requested. At that time, parents/guardians will be advised to make arrangements for a licensed mental health professional to develop a treatment plan and strategy for reentry into the school environment, which will accompany the new Medical Homebound Application. Students requiring more than 45 days for mental health conditions may also consider alternative educational settings, such as homeschooling or non-district virtual school options.

Notice of Destruction of Educational Special Education Records

Special education records for each child with a disability are maintained by Lexington County School District One until such are no longer needed in order to provide educational services to the child.

This notice is to inform you that the special education records for your child will be destroyed after five (5) years following program completion, graduation from high school or exit from the district, unless the student (or the student’s parent/guardian) has taken possession of the records prior to that time.

Food Service and Nutrition

Health

Amy Wood, RN

Nursing and Health Services Director

Sarah Salters

Nursing Supervisor