804 SAFETY PROGRAM

804.1 FACILITIES INSPECTIONS

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 (2013).

 

 

Cross Reference:        

802      Maintenance, Operation and Management

 

 

Approved July 2000   

Reviewed October 2016 

Revised                   

804.2 DISTRICT EMERGENCY OPERTIONS PLANS

The safety and security of the school community is paramount to the Cardinal CSD.  While there is no absolute guarantee of safety, it is the goal of the district to encourage and support 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 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. 

  

NOTE: This is not a mandatory policy, but all school districts are required to have emergency operations plans in place for their districts no later than June 30, 2019.

Legal Reference: 

Iowa Code 280.30

Cross Reference: 

800

 

Approved: _September 2019____

Reviewed: _____

Revised: _____

804.3 BOMB THREATS

As soon as a bomb threat is reported to the administration, the school district facility should be cleared immediately.  A thorough search will be made by the appropriate school district or law enforcement officials.  Employees and students will remain outside the school district facility until it is determined that danger no longer exists.

It is the responsibility of the superintendent to file a report or keep a report of each incident for the school district records.

 

 

 

Legal Reference:         

Iowa Code § 279.8 (2013).

 

 

Cross Reference:        

804      Safety Program

 

 

 

Approved July 2000                     

Reviewed October 2016       

Revised                   

804.4 ASBESTOS CONTAINING MATERIAL

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. (2012).

40 C.F.R. Pt. 763.84 (2012).

 Iowa Code §§ 279.52-.54 (2013).

 

 

Cross Reference:        

403.4   Hazardous Chemical Disclosure

802      Maintenance, Operation and Management

 

 

Approved July 2000   

Reviewed October 2016  

Revised                   

804.5 STOCK EPINEPHRINE AUTO-INJECTOR SUPPLY

The Cardinal Community School District seeks to provide a safe environment for students, staff, and visitors who are at risk of severe allergic reactions. Therefore, it is the policy of the district to annually obtain a prescription for epinephrine auto-injectors from a licensed health care professional, in the name of the school district, for administration by a school nurse or personnel trained and authorized to a student or individual who may be experiencing an anaphylactic reaction.

Procurement and maintenance of supply: The district shall stock a minimum of one pediatric dose and one adult dose epinephrine auto-injector for each school building. The supply of such auto-injectors shall be maintained in a secure, dark, temperature-controlled location in each school building.

The school nurse shall routinely check stock epinephrine auto-injectors and document in a log monthly:
•    The expiration date;
•    Any visualized particles; or
•    Color change.

The employee shall be responsible for ensuring the district replaces, as soon as reasonably possible, any logged epinephrine auto-injector that is used, close to expiration, or discolored or has particles visible in the liquid.

Training: A school nurse or personnel trained and authorized may provide or administer an epinephrine auto-injector 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. Training to obtain a signed certificate to become personnel authorized to administer an epinephrine auto-injector shall consist of the requirements established by law.

Authorized personnel will be required to provide a procedural skills demonstration to the school nurse demonstrating competency in the administration of stock epinephrine auto-injectors to retain authorization to administer stock epinephrine auto-injectors if the following occur:
•    Failure to administer an epinephrine auto-injector to a student or individual by proper route, failure to administer the correct dosage, or failure to administer an epinephrine auto-injector according to generally accepted standards of practice  (“medication error”); or
•    Accidental injection of an epinephrine auto-injector into a digit of the authorized personnel administering the medication (“medication incident”).  

Reporting: The district will contact emergency medical services (911) immediately after a stock epinephrine auto-injector 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;
•    Each medication error with the administration of stock epinephrine; or
•    The administration of a stock epinephrine auto-injector.

 

 

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 provided they acted reasonably and in good faith.

The superintendent may develop an administrative process to implement this policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Legal Reference:    

Iowa Code §§ 135.185; 279.8.
281 I.A.C. 14.3.

Cross Reference:    

507.2     Administration of Medication

 

 

Approved July 2000                     

Reviewed March/April 2011         

Revised:  October 2016           

 

804.6 USE OF RECORDING DEVICES ON SCHOOL PROPERTY

District-Generated Recordings

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:        20 USC 1232
        Iowa Code §§ 279.8

Cross Reference:        506.1        Student Records
        

Approved   July 2021                       Reviewed                       Revised                  

 

                

      

804.7 RADON MITIGATION

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 responsibiity of the superintendent to create administrative regulations necessary to carry out this policy.

 

 

Legal Reference:         

Iowa Code §§ 280.32

 

 

Cross Reference:        

804      Safety Program

 

 

Approved July 2000                     

Reviewed October 2016        

Revised     August 2022             

804.7 R(1) RADON MITIGATION

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 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.