"Healthy Children Learn Better"

Students who are healthy in mind, body and spirit learn better, are more alert, and are more likely to be present at school. Our district has placed a Registered Nurse in every elementary school, the middle school and the high school in order to help our students succeed, even thrive in the academic environment.  

Your child's school nurse helps to ensure the management of specific health conditions during the school day. Asthma, depression, diabetes, dietary habits and allergies all affect a student's disposition on a daily basis. Our school nurses are strong advocates for our students' well being, often the first to identify vision, hearing, and growth problems or mental health conditions and communicable disease, which can be treated more effectively with early recognition and intervention. 

About School Nursing

"School nursing is a specialized practice of professional nursing that advances the well-being, academic success, and life-long achievement of students. To that end, school nurses facilitate positive student responses to normal development; promote health and safety; intervene with actual and potential health problems; provide case management services; and actively collaborate with others to build student and family capacity for adaptation, self management, self advocacy, and learning." Definition provided by National Association of School Nursing (National Association of School Nursing).

Assisting Students with Medications

The South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners, Nursing and Pharmacy issued a joint advisory opinion, collectively agreeing that school nurses in South Carolina may administer over-the-counter medications in a school setting with parental consent and without a medical order from a licensed healthcare provider. However, if the over-the-counter medication is prescribed by a licensed healthcare provider, or a parent/guardian requests the over-the-counter medication be given differently than standard package instructions indicate, then the over-the-counter medication must be treated like a prescription medication as set forth in S.C. Code Ann. S 40-43-86, requiring both parental AND healthcare provider’s permission to be given at school.

ASD4 will only allow traditional forms of OTC medication. No alternative medicine remedies, herbs, dietary supplements, essential oils, for example, will be permitted for school administration.

ASD4 has updated our policy to reflect this joint advisory opinion.
All medications, over-the-counter and prescription, MUST be brought to school by a parent or guardian in the original packaging. Per policy, students are not allowed to carry any type of medication during school hours unless the appropriate permission forms have been completed, are on file and have been approved by the school administrator.

The Safe Access to Vital Epinephrine (SAVE) Act

Parents must bring prescription and over-the-counter medications to school in their original containers. Prescription medications require a doctor signature to be given/taken at school. We encourage parents to give any over-the-counter medications at home before school.

• PERMISSION FOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION (OTC)

• PERMISSION FOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION(Prescription)

• Self Medicating Forms