September 21, 2005
Blood Tests and Insulin Injections, School and Daycare
Question from Stillwater, New York, USA:
My 11 year old daughter has diabetes and is in the sixth grade. Every day, she walks to the nurse’s office before lunch for a blood sugar check. The walk to the nurse’s office and then back to the cafeteria takes a little bit of time as the nurse is located in the high school portion of the school facility.
My daughter’s homeroom teacher this year is also a diabetic and has agreed completely to support my daughter in testing in the classroom, thus saving her the long walks everyday. The school district, however, will not allow this. I’m not pushing the issue yet but I wonder exactly what my daughter’s legal rights are concerning this issue.
Does my daughter have the legal right to test in the classroom or does the school simply have to allow her to test wherever they deem appropriate?
Answer:
With parental and physician consent, a student who is capable should be able to perform blood glucose checks in the classroom or wherever child happens to be on campus, field trips, extracurriculars, etc. Requiring a walk to the nurse’s office to check compromises the medical safety of the student and well as forces the student to miss valuable classroom time.
There are several Office of Civil Rights (division of the U.S. Department of Education that enforces Section 504) agreements that are on-point for this issue and may be reviewed on the American Diabetes Association’s web site. Also, parents may obtain a free packet of comprehensive information and speak to the ADA’s legal advocate by calling 1-800-DIABETES.
CJ
