September 9, 2013 Dear Parents and Guardians: Many of you have seen the gentleman outside of Presidio School with a protest sign regarding the safety of the children attending Presidio School. First, please let me assure you that your children are safe and that there has not been any incident in which a child has been injured or placed in an unsafe situation on our campus. This gentleman is protesting the Presidio School Medication Administration Policy. In particular, he is objecting to the “Medication Injection Policy” section. This policy states, “It is the intent of Presidio School to the best of our ability to ensure that students with special medical needs are able to fully participate in all educational activities. Medical injections are best performed by those who have been properly trained in the procedure, and Presidio School does not have a nurse or other healthcare professional on staff. Therefore, administration of medications via injection will not be performed by Presidio School. Injections must be given by the student’s parent or guardian or by the student under a “Self-Administration” Plan. The Plan will be in compliance with ARS 15-344.01.” For a student who is in need of an emergency related injection where the student is not able to self-inject or the parent/guardian is not readily available, the faculty and staff have been instructed to contact 911 Emergency Services immediately. In addition to calling 911, alternate treatments specific to the child’s condition and which have been approved by the child’s primary healthcare physician will be administered. As many of you may already know, in general charter schools do not have school nurses. Additionally, even large districts such as TUSD and Amphitheater do not have a nurse stationed at each school, but have nurses who rotate to the various schools within the district. As stated in our policy, we believe that giving students injections is not a procedure that should be undertaken by lay people. You, as parents/guardians, have the right to not agree with this policy and may choose to have your child attend an alternate school as a result. The gentleman who is protesting this policy currently has all of his children still in attendance at Presidio School. If you have any further questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Respectfully, Tom Drexel Terry Garza Director Director
Posted on: Mon, 09 Sep 2013 18:55:52 +0000