A program for annual inspection, in addition to those conducted by authorized agencies, of the equipment, facilities, and grounds will be conducted as part of the maintenance schedule for school district buildings and sites. The results of this inspection will be reported to the board at its annual meeting. Further, the board may conduct its own inspection of the school district buildings and sites annually.
Legal Reference:
Iowa Code §§279.8.
Cross Reference:
802.1 Maintenance Schedule
Approved: 8/14/1995 Reviewed: 06/10/2024 Revised: 7/11/2022
The safety and security of the school community is paramount to Tipton Community School District. While there is no absolute guarantee of safety, it is the goal of the district to encourage and support a physically secure learning and working environment within its buildings. The district shall work in conjunction with community stakeholders including local emergency management coordinators and local law enforcement agencies to create emergency operations plans for all district buildings and school buildings where students are educated.
The superintendent or their disignee shall be responsible for the development, review and implementation of the district emergency operations plan. The plan shall include procedures for transmitting alerts regarding emergency situations to school personnel, students, and employers for non-school employees whose presence is regularly required in the school building. The emergency operations plan shall be updated and reviewed annually by the Board and shall address responses to natural disasters, active shooter scenarios and other emergencies as determined by the district. The emergency operations plans are confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure under Iowa Code Chapter 22. However, the district shall publish procedures for students, school personnel, parents, and family members to report possible safety threats on school grounds and at school activities.
The administration shall hold annual emergency operations drills at each district building covered by an emergency operation plan in accordance with law. The district shall determine which school personnel shall participate and whether local law enforcement and students participate in annual drills.
Legal Reference:
Iowa Code 280.3.
Cross Reference:
711.7 School Bus Safety Instruction
800 Objectives of Buildings & Sites
Approved: 8/14/1995 Reviewed: 06/10/2024 Revised: 11/9/2020
Friable and nonfriable asbestos containing materials will be maintained in good condition and appropriate precautions will be followed when the material is disturbed. If there is a need to replace asbestos it will be replaced with nonasbestos containing materials. Each school building will maintain a copy of the asbestos management plan.
The school district will annually notify, appoint and train appropriate employees as necessary.
Legal Reference:
20 U.S.C. §§ 3601 et seq.
40 C.F.R. Pt. 763.84.
Iowa Code §§ 279.52-.54.
Cross Reference:
403.4 Hazardous Chemical Disclosure
802 Maintenance, Operation and Management
Approved: 3/11/1991 Reviewed: 11/9/2020 Revised: 11/9/2020
The Tipton Community School District seeks to provide a safe environment for students, staff, and visitors who are at risk of potentially life-threatening incidents that include severe allergic reactions and opioid overdose. Therefore, it is the policy of the district to annually obtain a prescription for epinephrine auto-injectors and opioid antagonists from a licensed healthcare professional, in the name of the school district, for administration by a school nurse or personnel trained and authorized to administer to a student or individual who may be experiencing an anaphylactic reaction or acute opioid overdose.
Procurement and maintenance of supply: The district shall stock a minimum of the following for each attendance center:
One pediatric doses and one adult doses epinephrine auto-injector
One dose of naloxone or other opioid antagonist.
The supply of such medication shall be maintained in a secure, easily accessible area for an emergency within the school building, or in addition to other locations as determined by the school district.
School nurses shall routinely check stock of medication and note the following:
The expiration date
Any visualized particles or color change for epinephrine auto-injectors
The school nurses shall be responsible for ensuring the district replaces, as soon as reasonably possible, any logged epinephrine auto-injector or opioid antagonists that are empty after use, damaged or close to expiration. The district shall dispose of stock medications and delivery devices in accordance with state laws and regulations.
Training: A school nurse or personnel trained and authorized may provide or administer any of the medication listed in this policy from a school supply to a student or individual if the authorized personnel or school nurse reasonably and in good faith believes the student or individual is having an anaphylactic reaction or opioid overdose. Training to obtain a signed certificate to become personnel authorized to administer an epinephrine auto-injector or opioid antagonist shall consist of the requirements of medication administration established by law and an annual anaphylaxis and opioid overdose training program approved by the Department of Education.
Authorized personnel will be required to retake the medication administration course, training program and provide a procedural skills demonstration to the school nurse demonstrating competency in the administration of stock epinephrine autoinjectors or opioid antagonists to retain authorization to administer these medications if the following occur:
Failure to administer an epinephrine auto or opioid antagonist according to generally accepted standards of practice (“medication error”); or
Accidental injection injury to school personnel related to administering the medication (“medication incident”).
Information: Opioid overdose occurs when the amount of opioid in the body is so great the individual becomes unresponsive to stimuli and breathing becomes inadequate. Lack of oxygen affects vital organs, including the heart and brain, leading to unconsciousness, coma, and eventually death. Naloxone is indicated for the reversal of opioid overdose in the presence of respiratory depression or unresponsiveness.
The following may be signs and symptoms of an individual experiencing an opioid-related overdose:
A history of current narcotic or opioid use or fentanyl patches on skin or needle in the body
Unresponsive or unconscious individuals
Not breathing or slow/shallow respirations
Snoring or gurgling sounds (due to partial upper airway obstruction)
Blue lips and/or nail beds
Pinpoint pupils
Clammy skin
Vomiting
Note that individuals in cardiac arrest from all causes share many symptoms with someone with a narcotic overdose (unresponsiveness, not breathing, snoring/gurgling sounds, and blue skin/nail beds). If there is no pulse, these individuals are in cardiac arrest and require CPR.
Procedure
Call 911, get an AED. Have someone call the school nurse and parent(s).
If possible, monitor and record respirations, heart rate and blood pressure. Note suspected opiate overdose (as evidenced by pinpoint pupils, depressed mental status, etc.).
If available, administer naloxone/ NARCAN® NALOXONE
Tilt the person’s head back and spray half of naloxone up one nostril and the other half of naloxone up the other nostril. IMPORTANT: In an emergency, if you do not have the atomizer, you can squirt the naloxone into the person’s nose as directed without the atomizer. NARCAN
Peel back the package to remove the device. Hold the device with your thumb on the bottom of the plunger and two fingers on the nozzle. Place and hold the tip of the nozzle in either nostril until your fingers touch the bottom of the patient’s nose. Tilt head back. Press the plunger firmly to release the dose into the patient’s nose.
Continue to perform rescue breathing/CPR as necessary.
Start rescue breathing if not breathing or CPR if there is no pulse.
Allow 1-3 minutes for medication to work. If no change to the person’s condition after 2-3 minutes, give another dose of naloxone/NARCAN® as in Step 4 above and continue rescue breathing as necessary.
Administer CPR if indicated.
Stay with the person until medical help arrives. Notify EMS of naloxone administration.
Reported administration should be sent to the State Opioid Response (SOR2) help desk at sor@idph.iowa.gov as an email and only include the date of administration and the outcome (was the individual able to be revived).
Reporting: The district will contact emergency medical services (911) immediately after a stock epinephrine auto-injector or stock opioid antagonist is administered to a student or individual. The school nurse or authorized personnel will remain with the student or individual until emergency medical services arrive.
Within 48 hours, the district will report to the Iowa Department of Education:
Each medication incident with the administration of stock epinephrine or opioid antagonist.
Each medication error with the administration of stock epinephrine or opioid antagonist.; or
The administration of a stock epinephrine auto-injector or opioid antagonist.
As provided by law, the district, board, authorized personnel or school nurse, and the prescriber shall not be liable for any injury arising from the provision, administration, failure to administer, or assistance in the administration of an epinephrine auto-injector or opioid antagonist provided they acted reasonably and in good faith.
The superintendent may develop an administrative process to implement this policy.
NOTE: Districts are not required by law to stock and maintain a supply of epinephrine auto-injectors, bronchodilator canister or spacer, or opioid antagonist. However, if a district decides to stock and maintain a supply of these medications, the board is required to establish a policy.
NOTE: For additional information, training resources and reporting forms regarding voluntary stock medication , please visit the Department of Education’s page titled “School Nurse Resources” and scroll down to “Stock Medications,” located at https://educateiowa.gov/pk-12/learner-supports/school-nurse/school-nurse- resources.
Legal Reference:
Iowa Code §§ 135.185; 190; 279.8.
281 I.A.C. 14.3.
Cross References:
507.02 Administration of Medication to Students
507.02E1 TCSD Authorization Asthma or Airway Constricting Medication Self-Administration Consent Form(s)
507.02E2 TCSD Parental Authorization and Release Form for the Administration of Prescription Medication To Students
507.02E3 TCSD Administration of Medication to Students - Parental Authorization and Release Form for Independent Self Carry and Administration of Prescribed Medication or Independent Delivery of Health service by the Student
507.02E4 TCSD Administration of Medication to Students - Parental Authorization and Release Form for the Administration of Voluntary School Stock of Over-the-Counter medication to Students
Approved: 9/12/2022 Reviewed: 05/13/2024 Revised: 05/13/2024
The district believes in the importance of providing a safe and enriching learning environment possible for its students. The district uses digital recording devices on school property including school transportation vehicles to help protect the safety of district students, employees and community members; and to safeguard district property which is funded using public resources. Additionally, district-generated recordings of students engaging in the district’s educational and extracurricular programs can be essential to engage positively with the school community and promote the value of public education.
In order to balance privacy and safety interests, no recording devices will be utilized on district property where individuals maintain a reasonable expectation of privacy. These areas include but are not limited to: the school nurse’s office, restrooms, locker rooms, changing areas, lactation spaces and employee break areas.
Recordings of students have the potential to be considered education records. Any recordings will be maintained and accessed in compliance with the requirements of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act and the district’s policy on student records.
Recordings will be digitally maintained and stored for an appropriate amount of time to maintain the safety of the educational environment and to safeguard district property, after which they will be destroyed. The superintendent or superintendent’s designee will establish any necessary regulations related to the secure storage, maintenance, viewing and destruction of digital recordings.
Non-District Generated Recordings
The use of non-district owned recording devices on school property and at school events will be regulated. Students, parents and community members will not be permitted to take recordings of other students or employees during school hours unless the recording is authorized in advance by building administration. Students and employees found to violate this policy will be subject to disciplinary measures consistent with board policy and applicable student and employee handbooks. This policy will not be construed or enforced in a way that infringes on employee activity otherwise protected by law.
It is important to foster a community spirit and sense of unity within the district. However, the district acknowledges that not every student or staff member feels comfortable or safe being recorded. At district-sponsored extracurricular events and activities, the use of non-district owned recording devices by the public may be monitored by administration if a concern is made known to district administration by a student, employee or parent. Any individuals determined to be making recordings considered bothersome to students or staff may be asked to stop or destroy their recording and may be asked to leave the event.
Legal Reference:
Cross Reference:
506.1 Student Records
Approved: 1/10/2022 Reviewed: Revised:
The board supports the use of recording devices on district property as a means to monitor and maintain a safe environment for students and employees. District property includes district-owned land, buildings, vehicles, buses and any other property as needed. The contents of the recordings may be used as evidence in a student or employee disciplinary proceeding.
Student Records
The content of the recordings may be a student record subject to federal and state law, board policy and administrative regulations regarding confidential student records. Generally, surveillance video that does not capture any specific incident is not a student record or personnel record and may be disclosed as a public record upon request. Only those persons with a legal basis or legitimate educational purpose may view the recordings. In most instances, individuals with a legitimate educational purpose may be the superintendent, building principal, classroom teacher, transportation director, bus driver, HR director and special education staffing team. A parent may inspect, review or be informed of the content of the recording without consent from any student or parent of a minor student also shown in the recording, whether the student is a bystander to an incident or directly involved. The district may, but is not obligated by law to provide a copy of a recording to a parent or student upon request.
A recording during a school-sponsored trip, such as an athletic event, may also be accessible to the sponsor or coach of the activity. If the content of the recording becomes the subject of a student disciplinary proceeding, it will be treated like other evidence in the proceeding.
Notice
The school district will annually provide the following notice to students, employees, and parents:
The Tipton Community School District Board of Directors has authorized the use of recording devices on school district owned property. The recording devices will be used to enhance safety and security within the educational environment. Students, employees, and parents are hereby notified that the content of the recording may be used in a student or employee disciplinary proceeding. The content of the recordings may be considered confidential student records and will be retained with other student records. Recordings will only be retained if necessary for use in a student or employee disciplinary proceeding or other matter as determined necessary by the administration. Parents may request to view the recording of their child.
The following notice will also be placed on all school buses equipped with recording devices:
This building/bus is equipped with a recording /audio monitoring system.
Review of Recording Devices
The school district will review the recordings when necessary, as a result of an incident reported by an employee or student. The recordings may be re-circulated for erasure after 30 days.
If not public records, the viewing of the recordings is limited to the individuals having a legitimate educational purpose. A written log, as appropriate, may be kept of those individuals viewing the recordings stating the time, name of individual viewing and the date the recordings was viewed.
Student Conduct
Students are prohibited from tampering with the recording devices on the school property. Students found in violation of this regulation will be disciplined in accordance with the school district discipline policy and Good Conduct Rule and will reimburse the school district for any repairs or replacement necessary as a result of the tampering.
Employee Conduct
District-generated recordings may be used as evidence in employee disciplinary matters, as appropriate. Employees are prohibited from tampering with recording devices on school property. Employees found to be in violation of this regulation will be subject to disciplinary action as outlined in the employee handbook and relevant board policies.
Approved: 1/10/2022 Reviewed: ______________ Revised: _____________
The district recognizes the importance of providing healthy learning environments for students, employees and community members in district buildings. The district will take appropriate measures as required by law to assess radon levels in attendance centers and provide for mitigation or other measures where appropriate.
It is the responsibility of the superintendent to create administrative regulations necessary to carry out this policy.
NOTE: School boards are required to approve a plan to assess radon levels in attendance centers in accordance with the requirements listed in the accompanying regulation.
Legal Reference: Iowa Code §§ 280.32
Approved: 05/13/2024 Reviewed: _____________ Revised: ___________
The district will create and the board will approve a plan to assess levels of radon gas present in district attendance centers. Funding for any costs related to radon testing or mitigation will be paid from the state school foundation aid received to the district or from revenues received from the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education fund.
Each district attendance center will undergo a short-term test for the presence of radon gas at least once by July 1, 2027. Short-term test means a test using a device that remains in an area for two to seven days to determine the amount of radon in the air.
Radon testing will be performed by an individual certified to conduct such testing pursuant to Iowa Code section 136B.1 or by district employees who have completed a school radon testing training program approved by the Iowa Department of Education and the Iowa Department of Public Health.
If the results of any short-term test at an attendance center are at or above four picocuries per liter, the district will conduct a second short-term test in spaces with elevated levels within sixty days of the first test. If the averaged test results of the first and second tests are at or above four picocuries per liter, the district will retain an individual credentialed to develop a radon mitigation plan.
The plan may include further diagnostic testing, corrective measures, and active mitigation. The mitigation plan will be completed within two years of the first short-term test unless the district plans to abandon or renovate the attendance center within five years and renovation includes radon mitigation.
All new school construction will include radon resistant construction techniques.
Approved: 05/13/2024 Reviewed: ___________ Revised: _____________