SCHOOL HEALTH ADVISORY COUNCIL

Mandated by Texas law, a council is appointed by each district to give advice on school health programs and their effect on student health and learning.

2023-2024 SHAC Committee Members:

Kaci Wash (School nurse), Reagan Schafer (School Nurse), Kali Rose (Parent), Jenny Sayles (Parent), Rachel Grantham (Parent), Kerri Rosenbaum (Parent), Sandra Sanchez (Food Services Director)

Meeting Dates for school year 2023 - 2024:

February 7, 2024 - Agenda Details Here / SHAC Minutes

October 25, 2023 - Agenda Details Here / SHAC Minutes

All meetings are open to the public and will be held in the conference room on the elementary campus at 3:15pm. For more information about becoming a SHAC member please contact Kaci Wash at kwash@forsan.esc18.net or (432) 457-0091.

WHEN NOT TO SEND YOUR CHILD TO SCHOOL

Students should not attend school if:

  • The student has fever. The student may return to school after having a normal temperature for at least 24 hours while not taking any fever reducing medications (ex. Tylenol or Motrin).

  • Antibiotics are prescribed. The student may return to school after taking the antibiotics for a minimum of 24 hours and without a temperature over 100 degrees for at least 24 hours without taking any fever reducing medications.

  • They seem tired/lethargic, pale, with little appetite, and generally “not him/herself”.

  • The student is vomiting. The student may return to school approximately 24 hours after symptoms resolve, and is able to tolerate a normal diet.

  • The student has diarrhea. The student may return to school approximately 24 hours after symptoms resolve, and is able to tolerate a normal diet.

  • The student has an undiagnosed rash. A rash may be indicative of many things, frequently of illnesses that are contagious. Therefore, a student will be excluded from school until a physician evaluates and determines the nature and contagiousness of the rash. A note is required from the physician upon return to school.

  • The student has severe cold symptoms, upper respiratory infection, a persistent cough, a runny nose that they cannot manage by themselves &/or contain with tissues, or other symptoms that would interfere with effective school participation.

  • The student is diagnosed with a communicable disease or illness. (ex: Influenza, Pneumonia, Strep Throat, Pertussis, head lice, Chicken Pox (Varicella), impetigo, scabies). Please contact your school nurse before sending your child back to school. 432-457-0091

Remember the 24 Hour rule of thumb!

The district has adopted board policies that promote student physical and mental health. (LOCAL) policies on the topics below can be found in the district’s policy manual, available at https://pol.tasb.org/Home/Index/687 .

·        Food and nutrition management: CO, COA, COB
·        Wellness and Health Services: FFA
·        Physical Examinations: FFAA
·        Medical Treatment: FFAC
·        Care Plans: FFAF
·        Crisis Intervention: FFB
·        Trauma-informed Care: FFBA
·        Student Safety: FFF
·        Child Abuse and Neglect: FFG
·        Freedom from Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation: FFH
·        Freedom from Bullying: FFI

We have to add info to our student handbook about what we teach in regard to human sexuality and the prevention of child abuse, family violence, dating violence, and sex trafficking and provide a link to our website with more info. Please add these sections to the health services website:Human Sexuality Instruction

Forsan JH/HS provides a sexual risk avoidance program called “y-wud-i” through The Life Center for sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. The sexual risk avoidance program for high school is called “There Is No Gray Area.” The programs empower and equip students to make the best choices regarding their sexual wellness.

Beginning in Grade 4, students learn about changes associated with adolescent development in the reproductive and sexual health strand in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Sills. In subsequent grade levels, students identify the purpose of these changes and their role in fertilization and reproduction. Students learn the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships and how to use communication and refusal skills to set personal boundaries in dating/romantic relationships. Students also identify how to respond to sexual harassment and abuse.

In the reproductive and sexual health strand in the high school Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, students identify the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships and learn to use communication and refusal skills to set personal boundaries and develop strategies for responding to sexual harassment and abuse. Students describe the changes associated with adolescent development and explain the process of fertilization, fetal development, and the importance of prenatal care. Students also learn that sexual abstinence until marriage is the only 100% effective means of avoiding unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases/sexually transmitted infections (STDs/STIs) as well as the legal, financial, and social issues associated with sexual health and reproduction.

Read the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for 7th grade health and high school health here:

https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/laws-and-rules/texas-administrative-code/19-tac-chapter-115

Instruction on Prevention of Child Abuse, Family Violence, Dating Violence, and Sex Trafficking

Forsan JH/HS provides a sexual risk avoidance program called “y-wud-i” through The Life Center for sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. The sexual risk avoidance program for high school is called “There Is No Gray Area.” The programs empower and equip students to make the best choices regarding their sexual wellness.

In the 7th grade health Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, students learn the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships and how to use communication and refusal skills to set personal boundaries in dating/romantic relationships. Students also identify how to respond to sexual harassment and abuse.

In the reproductive and sexual health strand in the high school Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, students identify the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships and learn to use communication and refusal skills to set personal boundaries and develop strategies for responding to sexual harassment and abuse.

Read the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for 7th grade health and high school health here:

https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/laws-and-rules/texas-administrative-code/19-tac-chapter-115

Tobacco and E-Cigarettes Prohibited
(All Grade Levels and All Others on School Property)

Students are prohibited from possessing or using any type of tobacco product, electronic cigarette (e-cigarette), or any other electronic vaporizing device while on school property or while attending an off-campus school-related activity.

The district and its staff strictly enforce prohibitions against the use of all tobacco products, e-cigarettes, or any other electronic vaporizing device by students and all others on school property and at school-sponsored and school-related activities. [See the Student Code of Conduct and policies FNCD and GKA for more information.]

The district must publish in the Student Handbook and on the district's website a statement indicating whether the district has adopted and enforces policies and procedures that prescribe penalties for tobacco and e-cigarette use.

Districts may access CATCH My Breath, a free, evidence-based youth vaping prevention program developed by the UTHealth School of Public Health, at https://www.catch.org/bundles/23725 and http://txsaywhat.com/.

The program is designed for grades 5-12 and is TEKS-aligned for health education in grades 6-8.

Education Code 28.004(k), 38.006

BDF(LEGAL)
DH(LEGAL) and (LOCAL)
FNCD(LEGAL)
GKA(LEGAL) and (LOCAL)

Food Allergies (All Grade Levels)

Parents should notify the district when a student has been diagnosed with a food allergy, especially an allergy that could result in dangerous or life-threatening reactions either by inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact with the particular food. It is important to disclose the food to which the student is allergic as well as the nature of the allergic reaction. Please contact the school nurse or campus principal if your child has a known food allergy or as soon as possible after any diagnosis of a food allergy.

The district has developed and annually reviews a food allergy management plan, based on the Texas Department of State Health Services' (DSHS) "Guidelines for the Care of Students with Food Allergies At-Risk for Anaphylaxis" found on the DSHS website at Allergies and Anaphylaxis.

When the district receives information that a student has a food allergy that puts the student at risk for anaphylaxis, an individual care plan will be developed to assist the student in safely accessing the school environment. The district's food allergy management plan can be accessed at:

[See Celebrations on page 48 and policy FFAF for more information.]

State law requires the district to request information about food allergies upon enrollment, but we also inclue a reference here to encourage parents to report a diagnosis after enrollment. Review FD(LEGAL) and FL(LEGAL) for information related to the confidentiality and retention of these disclosures.

If the district does not employ a school nurse, adjust the text accordingly.

State law requires districts to base their food allergy management plan on DSHS's "Guidelines for the Care of Students with Food Allergies At-Risk for Anaphylaxis" and to post a summary of those guidelines on the district's website, including instructions on accessing the complete guidelines. Any form regarding a child with a food allergy must include a link to the district website summary of the guidelines and a link to the DSHS guidelines. As of the publication of this update, the DSHS summary of the guidelines was not yet available.

State law also requires annual review of the district's FFAF(LOCAL) policy on food allergy management plans.

The RRM contains model procedures and forms to assist the district in creating its food allergy management plan.