GAMFA, Employee Communicable Diseases

The Franklin Parish School Board recognizes the importance of protection of the health and welfare of students, teachers, and other employees of the educational system from the spread of communicable diseases, including AIDS. The provisions contained herein shall be reviewed and revised regularly as necessary to reflect current medical research and legal opinion.

A communicable disease shall be defined as persistent or recurring infection which may be potentially transmitted to a susceptible person by contact with an infected individual.

When reliable evidence or information from a public health officer or physician confirms an employee of the School Board has a communicable disease or infection that is known to be spread by any form of casual contact and is considered a health threat to the school population, the Superintendent may exclude such person from school or employment for not more than five (5) days, or the amount of time required by state or local public health officials. Such staff member shall be excluded unless the public health officer approves work attendance or the condition is no longer contagious.

When reliable evidence or information from a public health officer or physician confirms a staff member has a communicable disease or infection that is known not to be spread by casual contact, the decision as to whether or not the affected person shall remain in the employment workplace shall be addressed on a case-by-case basis by a Review Panel to ensure due process.

Infected employees shall inform appropriate school officials of the infection so that proper precautions for the protection of the students, other employees, and the infected employee can be taken. Failure to do so may be grounds for termination of employment.

Irrespective of the disease presence, routine procedures shall be used and adequate sanitation facilities shall be available for handling blood or body fluids within the school setting or on school buses. School personnel shall be trained in the proper procedures for handling blood and body fluids and these procedures shall be strictly adhered to by all school personnel (see policy GAMFB, Guidelines for Handling Body Fluids in School).

Upon learning that an employee has been identified as having a communicable disease that is known not to be spread by casual contact, the Superintendent shall:

if the physician or health officer indicates the employee is well enough to remain in the school setting and poses no immediate health threat through casual contact to the school population because of their illness, the employee shall be allowed to remain in the school setting while the Review Panel meets;
if the physician or health officer indicates the employee is currently not well enough to remain in the school setting and/or the affected individual currently has evidence of an illness or infection that poses a potential health threat through casual contact to the school population because of the illness, the employee shall be excluded from the school setting while the review panel meets;
if the physician or health officer recommends exclusion because a public health threat exists, the Review Panel shall discuss the conditions under which the individual may return to school;

The Superintendent shall convene a Review Panel to address the concerns arising from an employee with a communicable disease and to make recommendations to the Superintendent regarding the employee’s attendance at school or workplace. Membership of the Review Panel and the process used to review the case shall be as outlined in Health and Safety, Bulletin 135, Louisiana Department of Education.

The Superintendent shall provide a written decision to the affected party within three (3) operational days (i.e. a day when the School Board Central Office is open for business) after the Review Panel convenes. The written decision shall convey information brought out during the review process and include the rationale for the decision concerning school attendance of the employee.

Appeals may be made by the parent or guardian in writing to the Superintendent and subsequently to the School Board as outlined in Health and Safety, Bulletin 135, Louisiana Department of Education. If the written decision of the Superintendent is contrary to the majority opinion of the Review Panel, a majority of the Review Panel has the right to appeal the decision in the same manner as outlined in Bulletin 135.

All persons involved in procedures to assess work attendance of an employee with a communicable disease that is not spread by casual contact shall be required to treat all medical information about the employee, proceedings, deliberations, and documents as confidential information. Records of the proceedings and the decisions shall be kept by the Superintendent in a sealed envelope with access limited to only those persons receiving the consent of the infected person, in accordance with state or federal law.

Before any medical information is shared with anyone in the school setting, a “Need to Know” review shall be made which includes the employee or his/her representative, unless the information is required to meet the mandates of federal or state law or regulation, or Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education policy.