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Board examines state proviso on 'unencumbered time' for school nurses; administration to craft recommendation
Summary
Trustees reviewed model policies after a state budget proviso requiring districts to provide unencumbered time for school nurses where practical; administration will return with a recommended policy combining existing district rules and model language.
Board members discussed how to account for unencumbered time for school nurses after a South Carolina budget proviso directed districts, where practicable, to provide nurses time free from assigned duties.
Doctor Turner said the district’s current policy does not explicitly reference nurses and presented two model policies — one from the South Carolina Department of Education and one drafted by the School Boards Association — for trustees to compare. She asked trustees for guidance on desired language and said administration would return with a consolidated recommendation.
Trustee Satterfield asked whether nurses had been consulted. Doctor Turner and Doctor Harris said the district has begun to incorporate unencumbered time in practice based on nurse feedback and is working to codify the arrangement. Doctor Harris added that in some cases administrators or teachers could receive training to provide limited coverage when nurses are unavailable, but cautioned that many nurse duties require licensed clinical expertise.
The board did not vote on a policy change; trustees asked administration to prepare a recommendation that aligns district practice with the new state directive.
