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Policy committee forwards new communicable-disease policy calling for reporting to county health department
Summary
The committee advanced a proposed standalone Policy 119 to prioritize health and safety across students, staff and visitors, direct reporting to the Frederick County Health Department, and require a regulation to implement reporting and confidentiality safeguards.
Frederick County Public Schools policy staff presented a proposed new Policy 119, a standalone communicable-disease policy, and the policy committee voted to forward the draft to the full board for first reading.
Staff said Policy 119 was drafted after earlier discussion that communicable-disease rules do not belong only in student-focused wellness policy and should apply to staff and visitors as well. The draft includes purpose language prioritizing health and safety for students and staff, five definitions drawn from sources including the Centers for Disease Control and COMAR, and two principal policy statements: promoting a healthy environment and establishing reporting expectations for communicable diseases.
Staff told the committee the draft instructs the superintendent to implement a regulation that provides school personnel the information they need to report suspected or confirmed communicable diseases. Staff said they shared the draft with the Frederick County Health Department before bringing it to committee and that the health department “didn't really have any suggestions or edits.”
Committee members asked whether the policy should address privacy laws such as HIPAA. Staff said the draft would follow applicable privacy and confidentiality rules and that information would be disclosed on a need-to-know basis. The committee discussed whether the policy should advise parents when to keep sick children home; staff proposed referencing the health department’s published guidance rather than including clinical specifics in policy.
Staff also noted related regulations and cross-references: immunization expectations remain governed by Policy 409 and by existing COMAR-based regulations; the draft renumbers several regulations so that, after the policy and regulation updates, communicable-disease regulation 200-26 would be renumbered to 119.0.1.
A committee member moved to forward Policy 119 to the board for first reading; another member seconded and the committee approved the motion.
The committee recorded the recommendation to forward Policy 119; final adoption would require board action at subsequent readings.
