We went through this with difficult child 1. In his case, the rules were shifting. When he was in Year 6, there was a staff ban on medicating kids at school. The Teachers Federation decreed tat staff MUST NOT give medication to kids at school. Parents had to make sure it happened. Neither were kids permitted to bringtheir own medications to school. They made exceptions for what they claimed were "genuine" medical need, such as epileptics and diabetics, because those kids REALLY need their medications.
As opposed to...?
At the time, difficult child 1 was attending an inner city school, over an hour's drive form home. No way could I ensure he got his medications. But his dad worked nearby at the university, so difficult child 1 had to leave school, walk through the inner city back streets to his dad's workplace, get his medications, then walk back.
It sounds appalling (it is) but the teachers had to make a stand in order to foce the Dept of Ed to make a formal ruling. The principal was sympathetic, but following the rules. She sent her son along with difficult child 1 for the walk, so difficult child 1 wasn't alone, but with his best friend.
By the following year and high school, the problem had been resolved - one staff member was delegated to be the medication administration officer for all kids needing medications. But the student had to voluntarily show up for medications. No paging of the kid, no follow-up.
About this time, difficult child 3 started primary school. There, the delegated staff member was the receptionist. Again, they wouldn't call the kid to come for medications (difficult child 3 was 5!) but the teacher did remind him to go to the office for medications. However, as he got older there was less reminding.
With difficult child 1 in high school, increasingly he was missing his medications later in the day. It was causing behavioural problems with rebound, as well as serious innattention. And no matter how I nagged (and used the argument of - what if this was needed for epilepsy or diabetes?) they insisted that he had to learn personal responsibility. There were added problems of the kids turning up for medications and the delegated staff member being absent, or not in her office at that time. It really was very unsatisfactory.
Two things we did:
1) We found (after a great deal of searchnig) a wristwatch for difficult child 1 that had multiple alarms on it, to remind him to take his medications. It's fairly easy to get a watch with one alarm, but multiples - not so easy.
2) We switched him to a long-acting formulation which negated his need for anyone at school to medicate him.
When we were arguing with Teachers Federation and Dept of Ed over the total refusal of anyone to take responsibility for medicating the kids, I used the arguments that since the law required us to send out kids to school, then the school was acting in a parental role de facto, therefore ALL needs of the child during thouse hours became the school's responsibility, to ensure they were met. A lot of parents were being very publiclyvocal on this, perhaps that is why it got solved in a matter of months. But they were a very emotional and angry few months.
What made me furious (and still does) was the attitude that there are "real" medical conditions where OF COURSE the school will be at the ready and take it seriously (kids with allergies and asthma fall into this category) and there are the "let's keep the parents quiet" medical conditions where medications really should be considered as optional and of no account. ADHD medications come into this category.
For ANY non-medical person to make such a value judgement, is for that person to place him/hrself above the medical personnel who prescribed the medications. it is just plain wrong and arrogant, but it happens.
My comment if it begins to turn into an argument between me and the school staff - "Don't argue with me about whether my child needs these medications and can be given the personal responsibility to remember to take them - argue with my child's specialist who has prescribed these medications. When you are more qualified than the doctor, AND you have full access to the child's medical history and have had him formally referred to you, THEN you are entitled to express your opinion and expect us to act on it. Until then - talk to the doctor. Leave me out of it. I'm just the parent. But these medications HAVE been prescribed, and until the situation changes and you achieve the qualificationsd needed, my child is by law in your care during school hours, therefore you WILL ensure these medications are administered according to directions. And any attempt to penalise the child or disadvantage the child in any way for failing to be perfect, will be seen as discrimination, by me and by my child's doctor."
Go get 'em.
Marg