A change in the Bremerton School District’s medication at school policy, that would allow students to take their medications on their own, raised some eyebrows at a school board meeting last week.

The board has been addressing its medication policy off and on since September. Currently, if a student has a prescribed medication that has to be taken during the school day, it must be administered by a school nurse of designated staff person.

With the proposed new policy, students would be permitted “under limited circumstances to carry and self-administer medications necessary to their attendance at school,” the policy reads.

At last week’s meeting, John Grant, supervisor of special services for the district, gave board members a list of more than 1,000 medications that students within the district are prescribed, including allergy, seizure, depression, anxiety and headache medications. Board members were told that in the 2013-2014 school year, the district dealt with 4,800 administrative prescription orders for students.

“It’s staggering,” said Grant, adding that of the 4,600 students currently enrolled in the district, 3,936 have one or more health or medical concerns.

In order for a student to be given a medication during school, a parent must sign a consent form and the drug must be administered by a delegated staff member with training or a registered school nurse.

If the proposed policy is instituted, some students could carry and take their prescription drugs themselves without supervision.

Teachers and principals who attended the meeting said they had concerns about students sharing medications.

“How do we deter them from doing this?” one teacher asked.

School board member Alyson Rotter said she thought the terminology in the policy was too vague.

“It just seems very vague — ‘limited circumstances,’” she said. “What does this mean? I’m concerned about that.”

Too, school teachers said they were concerned about whether students would take the appropriate amount of their medication, and if not, would the school district be liable.

And some said they were concerned that, if left up to the student, they might not take their medication. For example, students who now need medication at school for such conditions as diabetes are often reminded by teachers to take their medications.

The policy change, and the specific wording of it, is something that is being suggested by the Washington State School Directors Association.

But board members were told that the district could set more specific wording that would further define the “under limited circumstances” which would help clarify the policy.

Superintendent Aaron Leavell said he could see that the policy was something that needed further discussion and told the board that he would place it on an upcoming agenda so that the board could study the options more thoroughly.