August 19, 2005
School and Daycare
Question from Lincoln, Nebraska, USA:
Are schools required to keep someone on the school grounds, while my son is there, who can administer insulin?
Currently, our school’s policy does not allow for anyone other than a nurse to give insulin, instruct in giving insulin, or to verify insulin dosage. My son still requires someone to figure his dosage for him and tell him how much to dose. He is capable of programming his own pump. They want to place a Tech at our school, and bring in a “treatment nurse” at lunch for his insulin bolus. If he requires insulin any other time of day, he will have to wait 15 or more minutes for a “treatment nurse” to arrive, figure his dose and instruct him on how much to give. This includes times when he may have ketones. Is this legal?
Answer:
Federal laws and some state laws require schools to have trained personnel available on-site at all times who can perform diabetes care tasks such as insulin and glucagon administration and blood glucose monitoring in order for students with diabetes to be safe at school. If the school nurse is absent, then another trained school staff member should be available to provide needed care. I recommend that the NDEP school guide be shared with the school and also find out reasons for school’s resistance to a non-nurse giving insulin. Many times, it is just a matter of fear and ignorance that can be overcome with education. For more information, see the ADA’s web page on School Discrimination or call 1-800-DIABETES and ask for the ADA’s school discrimination packet.
CJ
