7:280-AP1 Managing Students with Communicable or Infectious Diseases
7:280-AP1 Managing Students with Communicable or Infectious Diseases
If a student’s communicable or infectious disease affects his or her ability to participate in the District’s educational programs, he or she shall be treated as a disabled person under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, unless the student has already qualified for and is receiving services through an IEP under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act. For students with an IEP, the District’s Administrative Procedure, 6:120-AP1, Special Education Procedures Assuring the Implementation of Comprehensive Programming for Children with Disabilities, must also be followed and it will control whenever there is a conflict with these procedures.
Rules and guidance from the ISBE and IDPH should be consulted and supersede these procedures. Guidance documents and important information include:
- Communicable Disease Guide, revised 2002, available at:http://www.idph.state.il.us/health/infect/comm_disease_guide.pdf.
- Management of Chronic Infectious Diseases in Schoolchildren, revised in 2003 by ISBE and IDPH, available at: http://www.isbe.net/spec-ed/pdfs/chronic_diseases.pdf
- The Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois (20 ILCS 2310/) and the Department of Professional Regulation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois (20 ILCS 2105/) both expanded the statutory authority of the governor and IDPH to respond to significant threats to the public health.
Managing Students with Communicable or Infectious Diseases
| Actor | Action |
| Parents/Guardians | Notifies the Building Principal where their child is enrolled if their child has a communicable or infectious disease. See Exhibit 7:280-E2, Reporting and Exclusion Requirements for Common Communicable Diseases, for a list of communicative or infectious diseases. |
| Building Principal/Building Nurse | Upon having knowledge of a known or suspected case or carrier of a communicable disease:
a. Notifies the local health authority as required by 77 Ill. Admin. Code §697.200. The local health authority is a full time official health department as recognized by IDPH, having jurisdiction over a particular area, including city, village, township, and county boards of health. If there is not a local health authority recognized by IDPH, the local health authority is IDPH. (77 Ill.Admin.Code §690.10). See also Exhibit 7:280-E2, Reporting and Exclusion Requirements for Common Communicable Diseases, identifying the diseases for which there is mandatory reporting. Note: The Communicable Disease Report Act, 745 ILCS 45/, grants immunity from slander or libel to persons who is good faith make such reports. b. Follows directions for temporarily excluding a student from school according to the local health authority direction and 77 Ill. Admin. Code Part 690. c. Reports incident to District Nurse/Principal. Prepares and distributes parent communications. Keeps the school open where a student with a communicable disease attends, except in the event of an emergency, (77 Ill. Admin. Code §690.1000 (c) (1). |
| Nurse | Observes all rules of IDPH regarding communicable and chronic infectious disease. See the Legal References below for a list of these rules.
Collects and maintains the student’s medical information in a manner that ensures the strictest confidentiality and in accordance with federal and State laws regarding student records. |
| Superintendent or District Nurse | Confirms that all required and appropriate notices are made.
District Nurse notifies and advises Superintendent, Student Services and Communication Manager as warranted by circumstance. Convenes the Communicable and Chronic Infectious Disease Review Team. This Superintendent committee is composed of the District’s medical advisor, a school nurse, the Building Principal, and the Superintendent or designee (see 2:150-AP, Superintendent Committees). |
| Communicable and Chronic Infectious Disease Review Team | Arranges a meeting with the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s), personal physician, local health authorities, as well as persons with knowledge of the placement options available. The purpose of the meeting is to:
a. Determine when an excluded student will return to school. This determination shall be based on whether the student poses a high risk of transmission of a communicable and chronic infectious disease to other students and staff. A student suspected of being infected with a disease for which isolation is required shall be refused admittance while acute symptoms are present. (77 Ill.Admin.Code §690.30(c)(2) b. Perform a pre-placement evaluation. 34 C.F.R. §104.35). c. Make a placement decision based on the pre-placement evaluation. The placement decision shall include any needed related services. 34 C.F.R. §104.35. d. If there is a reason to believe that the student may have a disability requiring special education and related services, the child shall be referred for a special education evaluation. Referrals may also be made, at any time, by any concerned person, including but not limited to District personnel, the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s), a community service agency employee, a professional having knowledge of a child’s problems, a child, or an ISBE employee. See the District’s Special Education Procedures Assuring the Implementation of Comprehensive Programming for Children with Disabilities, 23 Ill.Admin.Code §226.110). Reports the meeting results to the Superintendent. |
| Superintendent or Building Principal | Notifies the student’s parents/guardians when an excluded student can return to school and of the placement decision. If the student will not attend school, every reasonable effort shall be made to provide the student with an adequate alternative education. State regulations and school policy regarding home bound instruction shall apply. |
| Communicable and Chronic Infectious Disease Review Team | At least annually while a student has a contagious or infectious disease, arranges a meeting with the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s), personal physician, local health authorities, as well as persons with knowledge of the placement options available, to review the student’s education placement and the provision of related services. |
Managing a Student with a Communicable or Infectious Disease Who Demonstrates Behavior that Could Result in Infecting Other Students or Staff Members
| Actor | Action |
| Parents/Guardians or any Staff Member | Notifies the Building Principal if a student with a communicable or infectious disease shows a lack of control of bodily secretions, has open sores that cannot be covered, or demonstrates behavior (e.g., biting) that could result in direct inoculation of potentially infected body fluids into the bloodstream. |
| Building Principal | Immediately notifies the Superintendent and District Nurse of the above. |
| Superintendent or District Nurse | Upon being notified that a student is demonstrating behavior that could spread his or her disease, convenes the Communicable and Chronic Infectious Disease Review Team.
If appropriate, notifies parents of students of possible exposure if their student may have been exposed to a communicable or infectious disease due to behaviors exhibited by a student having such a disease. |
| Communicable and Chronic Infectious Disease Review Team | Arranges a meeting with the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s), personal physician, local health authorities, as well as persons with knowledge of the placement options available. The purpose of this meeting is to:
a. Determine whether the student’s temporary removal from the classroom is appropriate because the student poses a high risk of transmitting a communicable and chronic infectious disease or whether another response exists to reduce the risk of transmission. A student suspected of being infected with a disease for which isolation is required shall be refused admittance while acute symptoms are present. 77 Ill.Admin.Code §690.30(c)(2) b. Perform a pre-placement evaluation if the student will continue to attend school. 34 C.F.R. §104.35. c. Make a placement decision based on the pre-placement evaluation. The placement decision shall include any needed related services 34 C.F.R. §104.35. If the student will continue to attend school, determine the student’s appropriate educational placement. The team shall also determine if the student needs related services or placement outside the regular classroom. Reports the meeting’s results to the Superintendent. |
| Superintendent or Director of Student Services | Notifies the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) whether the student will attend school. If the student will not attend school or participate in school activities with other students, every reasonable effort shall be made to provide the student with an adequate alternative education; however, an individual student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) will control. State regulations and school policy regarding home bound instruction apply. |
| Communicable and Chronic Infectious Disease Review Team | At least once a month while a student is removed from normal school attendance, arranges a meeting with the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s), personal physician, local health authorities, as well as persons with knowledge of the placement options available, to review the removal and to determine whether the condition precipitating the removal has changed. |
General Post-Evaluation Procedures
| Actor | Action |
| Parents/Guardians | May appeal their child’s exclusion from school or educational placement to the School Board within 10 days of being notified of the action. |
| Parents/Guardians | When their child returns to school after an absence due to a communicable and chronic infectious disease, present a certificate from a physician licensed in Illinois stating that the child qualifies for re-admission to school under the rules of IDPH that regulate periods of incubation, communicability, quarantine, and reporting. |
Cross Reference:
5:40 Communicable and Chronic Infectious Disease
Legal Reference(s):
105 ILCS 5/10-21.11 and 10/1 et seq.
77 Ill.Admin.Code Parts 665, 690, 693, 695, 696, and 697.
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §12101 et seq.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. §1232g.
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504, 29 U.S.C. §701 et seq.
Date Adopted: August 22, 2008
Date Amended: May 21, 2014
Date Amended: August 20, 2019