South Carolina Code of Regulations
Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Subchapter 61-22 - THE EVALUATION OF STAFF OF SCHOOLS AND CHILD CARE CENTERS FOR TUBERCULOSIS
61-22.III - GUIDELINES FOR SCREENING AND EVALUATION

1. As a prerequisite to employment, and as a condition for continued employment, all employees shall be evaluated for tuberculosis by a licensed healthcare provider and shall provide written certification from a licensed physician that the person does not have TB disease.

2. Tuberculosis evaluations must be completed no more than one year prior to employment.

3. Tuberculosis evaluations shall be conducted utilizing Approved TB Screening Tests.

4. Certification of tuberculosis evaluation, including disposition and preventive treatment, shall be documented on DHEC 1420 and retained in the files of the school, kindergarten, nursery or day care center for infants and children where the person works.

1. Any employee with a negative Approved TB Screening Test shall require no further routine screening except as otherwise provided in section III(B)(3) below.

2. Any employee with a positive Approved TB Screening Test or with a history of latent TB infection or TB disease shall be further evaluated by a licensed healthcare provider.

3. An employee in a public or private school, kindergarten, nursery or day care center for infants and children that has been evaluated for tuberculosis as required above will require no further routine screening so long as the person's employment in one or more of these work settings is continuous during consecutive years. Continuous employment in consecutive years includes, but may not be limited to, a change in employment directly from one of these work settings to another such as moving from a public school directly to a private school, moving from one school district directly to another, or moving from a day care center directly to a school. Short-term breaks in employment, such as maternity or paternity leave or traditional school year breaks, e.g., summer or winter break, shall not necessitate a new TB evaluation.

4. Nothing in these guidelines shall prevent a public or private school, kindergarten, nursery or day care center for infants and children from requiring additional tuberculosis evaluations or screenings of its employees and volunteers.

1. Every school, kindergarten, nursery or day care center for infants and children shall maintain a completed DHEC 1420 for each employee and shall make such records available for review by representatives of the Department upon request. Records may be maintained in an individual facility or in a centralized office, such as in a school district office..

2. For persons who are not employed directly by a school, kindergarten, nursery or day care center, but who work in these settings, the person's employer shall maintain a completed DHEC 1420 and shall make such records available for review upon request by representatives of the Department as well as representatives of any school, kindergarten, nursery or day care center in which the person works.

3. If an employee moves or transfers directly to another public or private school, kindergarten, nursery or day care center for infants and children such that employment in any of these work settings remains uninterrupted, no additional routine screening or evaluation for tuberculosis shall be required beyond that which is described above, provided the employee has a completed DHEC 1420, which should be transferred to the new place of employment.

4. If an employee works in more than one school, kindergarten, nursery or day care center for infants and children, each facility shall maintain a separate copy of the individual's completed DHEC 1420 unless kept in a centralized office governing all places of employment.

5. Any employee who does not have proper documentation on file that he or she is free of TB disease shall be excluded from working in any school, kindergarten, nursery or day care center for infants and children until written certification by a licensed physician is received and documented on DHEC 1420 declaring that the individual does not have tuberculosis in an active stage.

1. An employee who would otherwise be exempt from routine annual screening for tuberculosis may be required to undergo non-routine screening if there is epidemiologic or clinical evidence that such employee may have been exposed to TB bacteria or become infected with TB or may have moved from having latent TB infection to TB disease. Epidemiologic and clinical evidence includes, but may not be limited to:

2. The Department recommends that regular employees and volunteers of public or private schools, kindergartens, nurseries or day care centers for infants and children participate in a Public Health Education element annually. Recommended Public Health Education materials will be made available by the Department and will include disease prevention, symptoms and screening information for communicable diseases common to public or private school, kindergarten, nursery or day care center environments.