Are vax records considered private in a public school?
I am curious... Aren't my dd's vax (and medical) records considered private in a public school. Shouldn't the only one to have access to them be the school nurse (or professional person who handles records)? I mean look at the privacy paperwork that is signed at a doctor's appointment or the fact that a preist/pastor of a church can't even obtain medical information of a hospitalized church member without special permission. I was confronted by someone at my dd's school about her vax history. I was shocked. It's a long story, but I was under the assumption that these records are private. Does anyone have any information or any experience with this?
Thanks
^_^:
Only the administrators and school nurse should know about it. Who approached you?
^_^:
afaik it should only be the school nurse and I suppose the principal who would have access to that
^_^:
My dd's teacher... and she had quite a bit to say about it.:irked:
^_^:
The teacher has no business looking any vax record of a child. Haven't they heard of HIPAA?????
^_^:
My dd's teacher... and she had quite a bit to say about it.:irked:
What did she say? It could be that in some places they consider teachers in the "need to know" group, but she should be keeping that information private and she should never, ever approach you about it!!! I would complain to both her, the school principal and the superintendent of the district. She's waaaayyyy out of line.
^_^:
afaik it should only be the school nurse and I suppose the principal who would have access to that Hmmm - I would think not necessarily the principal, b/c they aren't part of the exemption or health records process.
In our school, the only ppl who know SHOULD be the school nurse, the school superintendent, and the school board (we had to submit our exemption to the super, through the board).
I'd be livid if a teacher approached me to rag on me about our kids' vax status. I'd be demanding some answers, and finding out exactly how many people had this information.
^_^:
as a former teacher-here is how it worked at my school
the vax / health records were kept in a cum file along with educational documentation that the classroom teacher, and the principal were allowed to access. i felt a child's health history was important to know as their teacher, but maybe it is different in general ed. i was working with children with severe disabilities and so it was helpful to know their medical history.
that being said i woudl never comment to the parents about it.
^_^:
i have access to my student's vax records-- they are in their cum file, which is not private information. parents are never told that medical info such as that is private. we are not breaking any rulse/laws by having it in their file. the files are kept locked in either the classroom or office, but not because of the medical aspect, but b/c the entire thing (test scores, physicals, portfolio, etc.) is confidental for school eyes only. there are laws, however, against HIV status being public.
^_^:
it is covered by hipaa. in my state it was also covered by state law and county policy--probably in yours as well but you would need to check it out.
teachers did have access at the school my son went to as madre piadosa described. office staff had access as well in that the exemption form went through the office.
our vaccine status was leaked. we were living in a small, conservative town at the time and NOBODY knew. i was approached by another mom who had heard we did not vax. only way was if someone was gossiping about our vaccine status.
i did go to an attorney. unfortately could not afford the retainer at the time. i did raise hell though. boy was i pissed.
the county did end up doing training for all school personnel on confidentiality.
^_^:
I used to work at a school. Vax/medical records were in the student records files, kept in a locked cabinet in the office. I don't recall teachers having access to these files. I think the secretary did all of the filing and retrieved things if needed. We were very conscientious about keeping info private.
The only time someone outside of staff got to look at the files was when someone from the state came to review the paperwork to see if we were doing it right. This person was shocked at the high % of exemptions (it was a waldorf school), but as long as all of the files had the right forms, shock was as far as it went.
More Topical:
Thanks
^_^:
Only the administrators and school nurse should know about it. Who approached you?
^_^:
afaik it should only be the school nurse and I suppose the principal who would have access to that
^_^:
My dd's teacher... and she had quite a bit to say about it.:irked:
^_^:
The teacher has no business looking any vax record of a child. Haven't they heard of HIPAA?????
^_^:
My dd's teacher... and she had quite a bit to say about it.:irked:
What did she say? It could be that in some places they consider teachers in the "need to know" group, but she should be keeping that information private and she should never, ever approach you about it!!! I would complain to both her, the school principal and the superintendent of the district. She's waaaayyyy out of line.
^_^:
afaik it should only be the school nurse and I suppose the principal who would have access to that Hmmm - I would think not necessarily the principal, b/c they aren't part of the exemption or health records process.
In our school, the only ppl who know SHOULD be the school nurse, the school superintendent, and the school board (we had to submit our exemption to the super, through the board).
I'd be livid if a teacher approached me to rag on me about our kids' vax status. I'd be demanding some answers, and finding out exactly how many people had this information.
^_^:
as a former teacher-here is how it worked at my school
the vax / health records were kept in a cum file along with educational documentation that the classroom teacher, and the principal were allowed to access. i felt a child's health history was important to know as their teacher, but maybe it is different in general ed. i was working with children with severe disabilities and so it was helpful to know their medical history.
that being said i woudl never comment to the parents about it.
^_^:
i have access to my student's vax records-- they are in their cum file, which is not private information. parents are never told that medical info such as that is private. we are not breaking any rulse/laws by having it in their file. the files are kept locked in either the classroom or office, but not because of the medical aspect, but b/c the entire thing (test scores, physicals, portfolio, etc.) is confidental for school eyes only. there are laws, however, against HIV status being public.
^_^:
it is covered by hipaa. in my state it was also covered by state law and county policy--probably in yours as well but you would need to check it out.
teachers did have access at the school my son went to as madre piadosa described. office staff had access as well in that the exemption form went through the office.
our vaccine status was leaked. we were living in a small, conservative town at the time and NOBODY knew. i was approached by another mom who had heard we did not vax. only way was if someone was gossiping about our vaccine status.
i did go to an attorney. unfortately could not afford the retainer at the time. i did raise hell though. boy was i pissed.
the county did end up doing training for all school personnel on confidentiality.
^_^:
I used to work at a school. Vax/medical records were in the student records files, kept in a locked cabinet in the office. I don't recall teachers having access to these files. I think the secretary did all of the filing and retrieved things if needed. We were very conscientious about keeping info private.
The only time someone outside of staff got to look at the files was when someone from the state came to review the paperwork to see if we were doing it right. This person was shocked at the high % of exemptions (it was a waldorf school), but as long as all of the files had the right forms, shock was as far as it went.
More Topical: