Kershaw County School District staff presented policy revisions to two board policies (GCLE and GCLER) to incorporate language required by Proviso 1.111 in the state General Appropriations Act about school nurse unencumbered time.

Becky (policy presenter) told the board the Proviso instructs the Department of Education to work with districts to incorporate, where practical, school nurses into the statewide unencumbered time policy and to outline penalties and exceptions to unencumbered time requirements. Elizabeth Starling, the district’s coordinator of nursing services, has notified school leadership and begun working with school nurses to incorporate the change into schedules. Becky said that having nursing assistants in each nursing office makes implementation easier for the district.

Why it matters: The proviso aims to ensure school nurses have protected time for clinical duties and documentation, which the state tied to the General Appropriations Act. District policy revisions are intended to bring local schedules and expectations into alignment with state guidance.

Details: The policy revisions were presented for information and questions. Board member Dr. King asked whether the district is fully staffed with nurses; Becky replied the district expects to be fully staffed after actions taken at the meeting. No formal vote was requested on the policy revisions at this meeting.

Ending: Staff asked for questions and indicated they would take the board’s input as the district incorporates the proviso into practice.