Meeting for

the last time before the end of the 2000-01 school year, the Fayette County

Board of Education spent Monday night considering a number of potential

policies and measures for the coming year and beyond.

The school

system is updating its policy concerning the administering of medication

to students by school staff. The most recent proposed policy was reviewed

Under the proposed

policy, the principal or a staff member designated by the principal would

be responsible for administering or assisting the student in self-administration

of medication, as well as documentation of that process and storage of

the medication.

For over-the-counter

medication, written authorization by a parent or legal guardian is required.

For prescribed medication, a licensed physician must also sign the authorization.

All medications and authorizations would be brought to the school by a

parent, legal guardian or designated adult, preferably before the start

of the school day, according to the policy. No more than a 30-day supply

of any medication would be kept at school.

Under certain

circumstances, students with conditions that are possibly life-threatening

could carry their medication (inhalers or glucose tablets, for example)

on their persons, if a physician gives written documentation that such

a need exists.

The proposed

policy will be studied and considered again at next month's school board

meeting.

The board also

is reviewing the school system's policy concerning field trips. Superintendent

John DeCotis told board members Monday that this has become necessary

due to some conflicts that have arisen in previous years.

Each teacher

typically is allowed three field trips per year, not including school-wide

or grade-wide trips. Many of the problems have stemmed from everyone wanting

to take field trips the final weeks of school, DeCotis said. This can

be a problem because there is not enough transportation for every class,

and some classes that have completed their curriculum may be looking to

just take a free day instead of a field trip that is educational in nature.

A proposed

new policy concerning field trips would require requests to be submitted

ten days in advance and would not authorize any trips for the first two

weeks or last two weeks of the school year. Exceptions would be made for

academic and extracurricular competitions.

The field trip

policy will also be reviewed at next month's board meeting.

In response

to questions that arose from last month's Coca-Cola proposal, a detailed

list of answers was furnished to the board and discussed Monday night.

Coca-Cola has proposed an exclusive bottling agreement with each school

that could result in extra funds being raised by those schools in proportion

to the sale of drinks in vending machines and at concession stands.

Some concerns

were raised regarding possible use of other brands, such as products donated

that the bottler would not be policing school events looking for other

brands.

Also, every

school in the county does not have to sign an agreement for other schools

to benefit. The schools that choose not to participate would not receive

the same financial incentives as the ones that do get involved.

More discussion

of the agreement will take place at the school board's June meeting.