School Policies

School Policies

School Policies

Calendar

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to outline The Shafer Center (TSC) policies and procedures for all students. Parents should read all parts of this document annually and reach out to your team if you have any questions.

Hours of Operations

The Shafer Center’s business hours are from 8:30am to 4:00pm Monday through Thursday and 8:30am to 3:30pm on Friday. Student school hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 3:00pm.

Attendance is a critical aspect of your child’s educational program and is required by law for children between the ages of 5 and 16. Under the Maryland Compulsory School Attendance law, the parent/guardian is responsible for their child’s regular, on-time school attendance. In addition, the parent/guardian is expected to provide their child with a signed, written statement accounting for the reason and date(s) of absences to be presented upon the child’s return to school for excused absences (illness, religious holiday, family emergency, court summons, medical appointment, hazardous weather conditions, lack of authorized transportation, other emergency, or set of circumstances). Absences not accounted for in writing either by the parent or a doctor will be coded as unexcused (unlawful).

Any person who has custody of a child who fails to have the child attend school under this compulsory attendance article is violating the law. If more than 10 consecutive excused absences or 10 nonconsecutive unexcused absences occur within a quarter, an IEP meeting will be held to discuss attendance and county liaisons will be notified if your child is funded.

Annotated Code of Maryland, Education Article, § 7-301, Compulsory Attendance

Parents/guardians must text 443-332-5526 or communicate the absence of their child to their child’s BCBA by 7:00am. If more than 10 minutes late to pick up or drop off your child, parents are responsible for calling 410.517.1113 to update TSC with your arrival time. For any planned absences, vacations, lateness, or early dismissal, parents are responsible for texting TSC at 443-332-5526 or communicating with their child’s BCBA. A written note or email is required for any absence to be documented as excused. We may require documentation from a doctor for certain medical issues on a case by case basis.

Parents/guardians will be able to download our yearly calendar at www.theshafercenter.com, which outlines Shafer Center closings, professional days, school breaks, conference days, and special events. The calendar is subject to change based on weather-related closings and each update will be sent home. On scheduled conference days, childcare services are available and can be coordinated by alerting your child’s BCBA.

The following forms are required annually and must be renewed before the start date/the beginning of each school year in order your child to begin school:

To be completed and returned:

  • Student Medical Authorization Form
  • Student Emergency Form
  • Allergy and Dietary Restrictions Form
  • Student Health Inventory Form (pages 1 and 2)
  • Consent for Assessment and Clinical Services
  • Declaration of Professional Practices and Procedures
  • Behavior Intervention Policy
  • Education Program Description
  • Admissions Policy
  • Calendar of school day
  • Health Permission Slip
  • Review and sign Safety Action Plan (SAP) (as needed)
  • Review and sign Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) (during Annual IEP Meetings)
  • Individualized treatment for medical issues and or Medicine administration forms (as needed)

The Shafer Center follows Baltimore County Public Schools for delays and closures during times of inclement weather. Please refer to the table below for different scenarios.

Families can sign up to receive text message notifications regarding these closings on: www.wbaltv.com/weather/closingssignup.

weather policy table

At The Shafer Center, we are committed to creating an environment that is welcoming, comfortable, and inclusive for all. Just as we encourage our staff to maintain a standard of respect and professionalism, we ask our community members to follow a simple dress code when participating in Shafer Center activities and events either at The Shafer Center or in the community.

 

Community Dress Code Guidelines:

  • Respectful Attire: Please avoid clothing that others might find offensive or that could make fellow community members uncomfortable. This includes attire with profane language or clothing that promotes negative or inappropriate statements related to sensitive topics such as politics, religion, sexuality, race, age, gender, or ethnicity.
  • Practical Clothing: We recommend that members do not wear clothing they wish to keep in pristine condition, as activities at The Shafer Center may involve the possibility of clothing being stained, ripped, or torn.
  • Comfortable & Inclusive: We encourage attire that allows you to feel comfortable while also being mindful of the diverse backgrounds of everyone who shares our space.

 

Enforcement of Policy:

If we feel that this dress code policy is not being met, we will kindly ask the community member to change into a different article of clothing. When possible, The Shafer Center will provide an alternative item of clothing. For our students, if they are not following this policy, our staff will assist them by changing their clothes to ensure compliance.

 

We strongly encourage parents to dress their children in comfortable, weather-appropriate clothes that can get soiled. Sandals without heel straps, including flip-flops, are not allowed. Clothing should be labeled with the student’s initials on the tag. Students must have a pair of labeled backup clothes, including tops, bottoms, underwear, socks, and shoes. These should be provided at the beginning of the school year and will be returned at the end of the school year. If clothing is not labeled, The Shafer Center cannot guarantee that clothes which become soiled or changed during water play activities, will not be lost or accidentally sent home with the wrong student.

It is not a requirement that your child is independent with toileting to attend our school program. The Shafer Center can assist in developing a program to help your child achieve success with toileting independence. If your child is not yet toilet trained or is in the process of training, please provide pull-ups, wipes, and ample changes of labeled clothing to keep in school. Please work with your child’s team to develop a consistent schedule and preferences for bathroom use.

Field trips and Community Based Instruction trips are recognized as a meaningful part of a child’s school experience and offer great opportunities for enriching the curriculum. Community Based Instruction differs from the traditional field trip in that it is typically more individualized and emphasizes acquisition and application of functional and age-appropriate skills in a naturalistic context. The purpose of Field Trips are to gain meaningful knowledge outside of the classroom setting.  In order to participate, a child must have a School Trip Permission Form completed and signed by a parent for each outing. Parents must sign permission in order to transport their child to a designated field trip. Some trips may require parents to send in money to cover additional costs and fees.

If a child is to be picked up by someone other than his/her parent/legal guardian, that person must have written permission from the child’s parent. The parent should complete the Student Transportation Release Form and give to the Front Desk Coordinator. This form is available on the website: www.theshafercenter.com.

Safety is our first priority during arrival and dismissal of our students. The following procedures are to ensure the safe and orderly flow of traffic.

  1. During carpool, buses receive priority due to traffic flow.
  2. Drop-off for students starts at 8:50 a.m., 10 minutes before school start time. Pick-up for students starts at 2:45 p.m., 15 minutes before the scheduled school end time.
  3. When entering the carpool line, please use the entrance closest to the Goldfish Swim School. Pull around the back of the building and around the side to enter the carpool line. This entry is required to ensure a traffic flow that safely allows buses to enter through the second entrance.
  4. To ensure safe transitions into the school building, only students from the first two vehicles in line will be transported into the building. We ask that all other students wait to transition in until they are the first or second car in line.
  5. All children must be dropped off in carpool line unless previous arrangements have been made.
  6. During pick-up, a TSC staff member will walk your child to the vehicle and, if necessary, place them in the car seat, but will not buckle the seat. Parents should pull slightly forward and then are responsible for buckling their child in the car seat. Shafer Center staff cannot buckle children into the car.
  7. If you are late or picking up your student early, please call the front desk at 410-517-1113 and follow the above policy.

The Shafer Center is a nut-free school. No nut products may be brought into school at any time. Any nut-substitute products (e.g., wow butter, sun butter) that are sent in must be clearly labeled as “nut free”.

There may be classrooms with further allergy restrictions. If this is the case, we will notify you about what the food restrictions will be for your child’s classroom.

Children participating in full day programs will need to bring a lunch daily. The lunches will be not be refrigerated or heated, so please make sure items are properly packed to be stored at room temperature. Parents can provide water bottles for students to have access to water throughout their school day. If your child requires any individualized treatment plan regarding food or mealtime, please talk to your BCBA. You may be asked to submit a doctor’s note outlining the plan. The Shafer Center provides nut-free snacks to students on a daily basis. If your child has specific dietary restrictions or you do not wish for your child to be provided snacks outside of what is sent in from home, please communicate your requests to your child’s BCBA. If your child requires free or reduced food services, please contact your county liaison to discuss options.

Records are maintained for each child beginning with application to The Shafer Center. All information in a child’s file will be considered confidential and to be used only by The Shafer Center personnel or specific County employees if your child is funded through a local school system. It is The Shafer Center’s policy that all records pertaining to a child are available to the child’s parent(s)/legal guardian upon a written request made to the front desk. Please allow one week to process this request.

The Shafer Center strongly encourages parent involvement. Please notify The Shafer Center of any changes, challenges, or successes at home. It is The Shafer Center’s mission to provide an enriching program for your child and parent feedback is an essential part of shaping that program.

We communicate via email, personal text, and TSC texting system. Please keep us informed if any of your contact information changes. We also encourage families check their spam filters to ensure they are receiving our email communication. You will also receive daily communication sheets that will describe information about your child’s day. It is important you review these communication sheets which provide details and answers to many questions about your student’s day.

Students are not allowed to wear or bring into the building any device that has access to apps or a feature that allows parents or others to listen in, speak to their child, or allow their child to send videos and pictures throughout the school day. Personal cell phones and tablet devices are allowed to be brought to school for use in transport, but will remain in the student’s locker throughout the school day. Students will not be allowed to use their personal devices at school. Those devices will be returned to them when they are dismissed.

We understand that many of the students have location trackers. We want to support you in knowing that your child is safe throughout the day and tracking their location, without listening devices, is allowed. Items that are allowed:

  • Trackers that do not have listening devices
  • Air tags
  • Watches that do not have listening devices
  • Cell phones/tablet devices that are kept in the child’s locker throughout the day

If there is another device currently on the market or developed in the future that is not listed in the bullets above that you want to use, you must contact The Shafer Center for approval.

If a student comes to school with a device that is not approved, the device will be removed and placed in a secure area. The device will be returned to the student right before they are picked up from school. The parents will be contacted if they send in an unapproved device.

The Shafer Center has a live video and audio monitoring system set up in all classrooms and student spaces except bathrooms. Families are welcome to observe their child participating in classroom activities, as well as individual and small-group related activities. An administrator or BCBA will be present for all observations. Please schedule an observation with your child’s BCBA and allow at least 2 weeks to process.

All video and audio recording through The Shafer Center audio and monitoring system is the property of The Shafer Center. No video or audio recording will be shared with families from this system. Parent and families are not allowed to do any personal recordings of video, audio, or live observations.

We have several events where families do attend in person and may video tape the proceedings. You will be notified in the invitation if an in-person event allows video recording. If you do not want your child to be videotaped by another family, you will need to contact the Director of Education, and your child may not be able to participate in these events.

Conference days for students are scheduled quarterly and listed on the yearly calendar. Quarterly conferences will be with your child’s team including the special educator, speech language pathologist, occupational therapist, behavior analyst, and classroom assistant. Conference sign-ups will be sent out at least two weeks prior to the conference date and parents are responsible for signing up for their conference time.
Families will be offered a 30-minute monthly consultation meeting with their child’s interdisciplinary team. Meetings will occur virtually or in-person to address progress and/or needs in the home, community, or school. If an additional meeting is needed, the parent can schedule with their child’s BCBA.

A parent is required to provide written consent for any observations, meetings with TSC providers, or phone conferences that they want us to have with outside providers regarding their child. Parents are responsible for giving any necessary documents to outside providers including, but not limited to: IEP progress reports, IEP related paperwork, and/or assessments. The Shafer Center will not send any documents to other providers or advocates. If additional copies of paperwork or electronic copies are needed, parents should communicate directly with The Shafer Center team and allow two weeks to process this request.

Health and Safety

If the water or electricity is out for 30 minutes or more, an early dismissal will begin. Once an early dismissal starts it cannot be reversed, regardless of whether or not the utilities are restored. You will be contacted via The Shafer Center’s text system with steps to pick up your child.

Fire drills or other emergency drills are practiced with all students and staff once per month.

All visitors must sign in at the front desk, show ID, and will be required to wear a visitor’s badge. If you are not scheduled or expected to come in, the front desk will not allow you in the building. We ask that if a parent needs to come into the building, do not hold the door for others and do not allow any additional people into the building.

According to Section 5-704 of the Family Law volume of the Annotated Code of the State of Maryland, any teacher or other professional employee of The Shafer Center who has reason to believe that a child has been subject to abuse or neglect must immediately inform the Vice President of Clinical Programs and report to the appropriate authority. In complying with the mandate to report, the person reporting is given immunity from criminal or civil penalties or liability when that person, in good faith, makes such a report. Such reports are confidential.

The Shafer Center must have complete and accurate health and emergency information for each child (see page 1 of this document). All children must have completed and returned the forms prior to your child’s start date.

Please make sure your child is in compliance with the immunization requirements for the State of Maryland. The immunization record must show the day, month, and year of each vaccination and must be signed by a medical professional or health department official. No child will be admitted to school without providing proof of these immunizations unless exempted for medical and/or religious reasons that satisfy Maryland law.

If your child requires medication administered during school hours, it is required that all medication with proper documentation from your doctor be submitted before the start of services and before the start of each school year. An individualized treatment plan for specific conditions such as seizure disorders or allergies is also required to be submitted by the doctor before the student’s first day at school. All forms can be found on our website: www.theshafercenter.com.

To administer a medication, we must have the following:

  • Medication in original container supplied by pharmacy/manufacturer
  • A correct and legible label on container that contain the child’s name, dosage, and expiration date
  • A completed Medical Authorization Form (including Doctors Order if applicable)
    • This needs to be completed by the health care provider and a parent, and is required for prescriptions and Over the Counter (OTC) medications. Any known side effects or special instructions should also be included in the paperwork.
  • An authorized adult must deliver all non-controlled medications to TSC. This could be a parent, bus driver (if they agree), or an adult that is transporting your child. Please do not send any medications in your child’s back pack. They will not be accepted.
  • Any controlled medications must be hand delivered by a parent to one of TSC’s Certified Medication Technicians (CMT).
  • TSC may dispose of any medication when:
    • Medication is discontinued before all of it is used
    • Medication is dropped on floor or becomes unusable
    • Medication expiration date has been reached
  • TSC will contact parent if medication needs to be picked up. All medications not retrieved by the parent will be disposed of two weeks after the expiration date and contact with the parent has been made.
  • A new Medication Authorization Form must be filled out (by the health care provider and by the Parent) for each new illness period. For example, if a child who has an ear infection arrives with medication they used months ago for a previous ear infection, a new form must still be filled out before we can administer medication.
  • Prescriptions must be completed ONLY by a person with prescriptive authority, which includes:
    • Physicians
    • Physician’s Assistants
    • Advanced Practice Nurses
    • Dentist
    • Podiatrists
  • OTC ointment & creams (such as sunscreen, lip balm, lotion, etc.) ONLY require a signed authorization form completed by a parent. Parents are to complete and sign the Medication Authorization Form although a doctor’s signature is not required.
  • Homeopathic Medicines (including vitamins) cannot be administered unless prescribed by a medical doctor.

Parents are asked to make a conscientious and responsible effort not to spread illness by keeping all sick students home until all symptoms have abated to minimize the spread of infection. Parents MUST pick up their child within 30 minutes if their child is sick and meets the requirements below.

    1. FEVER. A child shall be deemed to have a fever when there is a temperature above 100 degrees or more. In addition, if a fever develops while the child is at The Shafer Center, the child will need to be picked up within thirty minutes and taken home. The child may return to TSC if he/she has been fever free for 24 hours without medication.
    2. RESPIRATORY AND OTHER INFECTIONS. If a child is ill and requires antibiotics there needs to be a 24-hour period on medication before the child may return to The Shafer Center (e.g., for strep throat).
    3. COVID 19. Students exhibiting symptoms of COVID 19 (Fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting or diarrhea) are encouraged to take a home COVID test and if they are positive they must stay home from school for no less than 24 hours. If the student has a fever they must remain home until they are their symptoms are improving and they fever free for 24 hours without medication. Please see the CDC website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html for the most up to date information about COVID 19.
    4. DIARRHEA OR VOMITING. Children who are ill and have symptoms of diarrhea or vomiting may not attend school. If diarrhea occurs more than once per day, or a single incident of vomiting occurs while at The Shafer Center, the child needs to be picked up within thirty minutes and taken home. He/she may not return until they are symptom free without medication for 24 hours.
    5. CONJUNCTIVITIS. Known commonly as “pink eye” is extremely contagious. In suspected cases, parents will be contacted and the child will need to be picked up within thirty minutes and taken home. In confirmed cases, your child may only return to The Shafer Center after being treated with medication for 24 hours, and there is no longer any discharge.
    6. RASHES OR OPEN WOUNDS. Rashes includes a wide variety from eczema to poison ivy to allergies, etc. If the rash is oozing or pussy then your child may not attend The Shafer Center. If the rash is dry and past infectious transmission, then the presence of a rash in itself is not a reason to exclude your child from school. Some rashes indicate that a child may have fifth disease, which may be harmful to any pregnant woman. If it is suspected that your child may have fifth disease, your child may need to visit the doctor before returning to school. If a child has an open, uncovered wound that is actively bleeding they may not attend school. If a wound is covered and not bleeding, they may attend school. If a child opens a wound or the wound is actively bleeding during school, and the bleeding cannot be contained, they will need to be picked up within thirty minutes and taken to a doctor or urgent care for medical attention. He/she may return to school the next business day as long as the wound is covered and not actively bleeding.
    7. OTHER COMMUNICABLE DISEASE OR SERIOUS INFECTIONS. If your child has a serious infection such as rubella (German measles), meningitis, hepatitis, H1N1 influenza virus, or chicken pox, The Shafer Center should be notified immediately so that preventive measures can be discussed with The Shafer Center’s delegating nurse. Students should be kept home until they are cleared with a doctor’s note to return to school.
    8. EVIDENCE OF HEAD LICE OR OTHER PARASITES. Infested children will be sent home immediately and all families will be informed of the outbreak and precautions that The Shafer Center will take. The child may return as soon as she or he is free of lice and nits.
    9. WHEN IS A CHILD TOO ILL TO COME TO THE SHAFER CENTER? A child is too ill to come to the Center when he/she cannot fully participate in all of a day’s activities. It is important to note that our days are very active and a child who returns too quickly to the Center after being ill is more likely to have a relapse.

If your child has to be sent home early because of an illness, we require that they be picked up within thirty minutes of notification. The child has to be picked up by a parent, a person on child’s emergency contact form, or by a person that is authorized by the parent. The child will not be able to ride the bus home if they have an illness.

It is TSC policy to report all major and minor injuries to the parents/guardian of all students. Due to the sensitive nature of our population, we may report more types of incidents than parents are typically used to receiving from other schools. Incident reports and parent communication will be provided but not limited to the following: bumps, bruises, scratches, falls, observed marks or injuries upon arrival, etc. We do this for transparency sake and to make sure parents/guardians have the full information about their child.

All injuries, incidents that may pose a potential for an injury, or other health and safety related concerns regarding your child are documented on an incident report and completed by a TSC CMT. Parents will be notified via email, text message, or phone call by a TSC CMT or Supervisor if an incident has occurred. If there has been an urgent injury or medical emergency, a CMT or Supervisor will call parents/guardians as soon as possible. Incident reports are sent home daily with the student. Incident reports should be signed and returned to school. Additionally, if your child experiences an injury to the head, a TSC CMT or Supervisor will notify you by phone call or text as soon as possible.

Student and staff safety is of most importance at TSC. TSC practices the use of positive behavioral interventions and focuses on the teaching of functional skills to replace unsafe behavior(s). Additionally, we are aware that our students are at a higher risk for abuse and trauma, and we do our best to minimize any risks to them. Due to the nature of our students and programming, we are not a hands-off school. The Shafer Center trains all staff directly interacting with students in the proper implementation of S.U.P.P.O.R.T. (i.e., behavioral management) techniques. These techniques include physical blocking of unsafe behaviors, redirecting a student to safe and ongoing activities, and escorting a student to a safer location if necessary. Only the least intrusive techniques necessary to be effective will be used for any physical blocking, redirection, and escort techniques. All TSC behavior intervention practices will be approached using the least restrictive practices necessary for our students to be successful. The Shafer Center does not practice the use of seclusion or exclusion. In rare circumstances where a student is in imminent danger to themselves or others, physical restraint may be used as an emergency practice only. Please see our Behavior Intervention Policy (COMAR 13A.08.04) for a more complete description of these policies.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding behavior intervention practices please contact your BCBA.

This form must be signed by the Parents/Guardians and returned to The Shafer Center before your child begins school. Parents are responsible for understanding The Shafer Center School Policies outlined within this document. We ask if you have any questions regarding the information discussed here that you, please contact The Shafer Center for clarification. This document will be updated as needed. Parents/Guardians will be notified of any changes to the school policies in writing. Parents are asked to sign this form stating that you have received, understand and agree to follow The Shafer Center School Policies.