Administration of medication by school personnel

Many students who receive drug therapy for a seizure or a behavior disorder must take medication during the school day. In order to determine how school personnel manage this situation, teachers were asked to complete individual questionnaires for 461 trainable mentally retarded students who were receiving pharmacotherapy for one or both of these disorders. The return rate was 86%. The results showed that: (a) more than one-half of the children took medication in school; (b) teachers were responsible for supervising this activity in 48% of these cases; and (c) the school had obtained written instructions from the doctor and a permission letter from the parents regarding medication in all but a small minority of instances. However, there was no daily record of drug administration for 55% of the students. Issues related to school involvement in the administration of medication are discussed.