Glossary
education records: Broadly defined, those records that are 1) directly related to a student, and 2) maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution. All records, including immunization and other health records, that are directly related to a student and maintained by a school are “education records” under FERPA.
eligible student: A student who is at least 18 years of age or who attends a postsecondary institution at any age.
exposure control plan: The employer’s written program that outlines the protective measures an employer will take to eliminate or minimize employee exposure to blood and OPIM. The exposure control plan must contain at a minimum: an exposure determination that identifies job classifications and, in some cases, tasks and procedures where there is occupational exposure to blood and OPIM; procedures for evaluating the circumstances surrounding an exposure incident; and a schedule of how and when other provisions of the standard will be implemented, including methods of compliance, communication of hazards to employees, and recordkeeping.
free appropriate public education (FAPE): A term used in the elementary and secondary school context; for purposes of Section 504, refers to the provision of regular or special education and related aids and services that are designed to meet individual educational needs of students with disabilities as adequately as the needs of students without disabilities are met and is based upon adherence to procedures that satisfy the Section 504 requirements pertaining to educational setting, evaluation and placement, and procedural safeguards.
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act): A federal law that protects the privacy of students’ “education records.”
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act): a federal law enacted in 1996 to, among other things, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system through the establishment of national standards and requirements for electronic health care transactions and to protect the privacy and security of individually identifiable health information.
individualized health care plan: A detailed and orderly program of action designed to monitor, prevent, reduce or eliminate identified health problems to maintain or improve a student’s health status and level of wellness and to promote his or her learning and positive coping.
medical home: A model for delivering primary care that is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally effective to all children and youths, including children and youths with special health care needs.
related services: A term used in the elementary and secondary school context to refer to developmental, corrective, and other supportive services, including psychological, counseling and medical diagnostic services and transportation.
Response to Intervention: A method of academic intervention used in the United States to provide early, systematic assistance to children who are having difficulty learning. RTI seeks to prevent academic failure through early intervention, frequent progress measurement, and increasingly intensive research-based instructional interventions for children who continue to have difficulty. It is believed that students who do not show a response to effective interventions are likely (or more likely than students who respond) to have biologically based learning disabilities and to be in need of special education.
school nurse: A registered nurse assigned to work in a school.
school nursing: A specialized practice of professional nursing that advances the well being, academic success, and life-long achievement of students.
universal precautions: An approach to infection control. According to the concept of universal precautions, all human blood and certain human body fluids are treated as if known to be infectious for HIV, HBV, and other bloodborne pathogens.