August 22, 2001
School and Daycare
Question from Ripley, Mississippi, USA:
My nine year old son has type 1 diabetes, diagnosed at age seven, and this is the first year that he has been in a class without an assistant teacher. His teacher has been forgetting to check his blood sugars before lunch, and he has in the past been sent to the teacher lounge by himself to be treated for low blood sugars. The school nurse floats between three different schools in our county so is not there full time. Someone told us that if we requested an assistant teacher, the school would have to provide one. Is this true?
Answer:
The school is required by law to make accommodations necessary to insure that your son receives safe and adequate diabetes care at school. I would suggest that you have a written plan in place that spells out what he needs. You can begin the process by setting up a meeting to develop a 504 plan. See The Law, Schools, and Your Child with Diabetes.
SS
