Each chief school administrator/principal shall develop a program of accident prevention suited to his/her school. The chief school administrator shall review and approve such programs. When unforeseen situations arise, and an accident occurs, a school nurse or other assigned staff member shall be responsible for providing emergency services to a child or staff member. The medical inspector shall prepare a list of first aid treatment for the most common minor injuries. This list shall be made known to the staff.

Guidelines for Dealing with Accident/Injury

A. The school nurse or another trained person shall be responsible for administering first aid. Universal precautions shall be taken in the handling of blood and body fluids to ensure the containment of bloodborne pathogens. (See policies and regulations 4112.4/4212.4 Employee health and 5141.2 Illness).

B. In all cases where the nature of an injury appears in any way serious, every effort shall be made to contact the parent/guardian and/or family physician immediately.

C. Parents/guardians shall be requested to pick up their child. If a parent/guardian is unable to provide such transportation, no pupil who is injured shall be sent home alone. A pupil who is injured shall not be taken home unless it is known that someone is there to receive him/her.

D. In extreme emergencies, the school nurse, school doctor or chief school administrator/principal may make arrangements for immediate hospitalization of injured pupils, contacting parents/guardians in advance if at all possible.

E. The teacher or other staff member who is responsible for a child at the time an accident occurs shall make out a report within 24 hours on an official form providing details about the accident. This shall be required for every accident whether first aid is necessary or not.

F. Any injuries or accidents to pupils shall be reported as soon as possible to the chief school administrator/principal and the board.

Staff shall be informed at the beginning of each school year of the accident prevention program and procedures to be followed in case of an accident/injury.

Adopted: November 14, 2007
NJSBA Review/Update: January 2009, October 2017
Readopted: January 21, 2009
Reviewed:

Key Words

Accidents; Injuries

Legal References: N.J.S.A. 18A:11 3 Voluntary associations regulating conduct of student activities; membership; rules and regulations; appeals
N.J.S.A. 18A:16 6 Indemnity of officers and employees against civil actions
N.J.S.A. 18A:16 6.1 Indemnity of officers and employees in certain criminal actions
N.J.S.A. 18A:40-25 Boards of education to provide nursing care to students in nonpublic schools
N.J.A.C. 6A:16-1.1 et seq. Programs to Support Student Development
See particularly:
N.J.A.C. 6A:16-2.1,
-2.3, -2.4
N.J.A.C. 6A:26-12.2(a)2iii Policies and procedures for school facility operation
N.J.A.C. 6A:27-12.2 Accident reporting (transportation)
N.J.A.C. 6A:32-9.1 et seq. Athletics Procedures
N.J.A.C. 8:61-1.1 et seq. Participation and Attendance at School by Individuals with HIV Infection

HIV Policy and Practice: Regulatory Requirements for New Jersey Public Schools,

SDOE Division of Student Services, Sept. 1996, Doc. #P101400-31

Possible
Cross References: *3516 Safety
*3541.33 Transportation safety
*4112.4/4212.4 Employee health
*4123 Classroom aides
*5113 Absences and excuses
*5125 Pupil records
*5131.6 Drugs, alcohol, tobacco (substance abuse)
*5141 Health
*5141.2 Illness
*5141.4 Child abuse and neglect
5141.6 Crisis intervention
*5141.8 Sports related concussion and head injury
*5141.21 Administering medication
*5142 Pupil safety
*5200 Nonpublic school pupils
*6114 Emergencies and disaster preparedness
*6142.12 Career education
*6145.1/6145.2 Intramural competition; interscholastic competition
*6153 Field trips

*Indicates policy is included in the Critical Policy Reference Manual.