May 16, 2008
School and Daycare
Question from Pell City, Alabama, USA:
My daughter is in a school system that doesn’t seem to have much knowledge on diabetes. In our school system, a 504 plan is written at the end of the school year and carried over to the next year. This year, she entered a new school and no one from the new school was present at her old school while the 504 was being written. She went from a elementary school into a junior high. The rules were so different and the principal isn’t very understanding of her diabetes. She is the first child in our school system to have a insulin pump. Who is typically included in a 504? Are all schools this way? I got a notice for this year’s plan yesterday. The principal listed on her sheet to be present is transferring to another school after this year. Only two other teachers are listed to be there; one is a 7th grade teacher the other is an 8th grade teacher. She is going into the 8th grade. A nurse is not even listed to be present.
Answer:
Great question. Section 504 requires that the 504 process include school personnel who are knowledgeable about your child. Usually, the 504 team is made up of the school’s/school district’s 504 coordinator, a school administrator, a teacher, guidance counselor, and the school nurse as it is the school nurse who is most familiar with your child’s diabetes and its impact in the school setting.
For more information and/or to receive assistance, call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES and review web page on School Discrimination.
CJ
