For a student using insulin, diabetes must be managed 24/7, including the many hours spent at school, on field trips and in extra-curricular activities.
Some families can send their child with diabetes to school in the morning and feel confident that the school will be prepared to provide the diabetes care that meets their child’s needs. Other families worry that their child won’t have access to good diabetes management, that their child will be excluded from activities or have to take an exam when blood glucose levels are plummeting.
Legal Protections
The development of a written accommodations and care plan developed under federal disability law is the best way to ensure that diabetes needs are met in a way that maximizes safety, health, learning and participation.
Position Statements and Resources for Care at School
Resources and information on how to care for a student with diabetes at school.
Resolving Challenges
When conflicts about care at school arise, it is often because parents and schools have different understandings about care at school.
School Staff Training
The school nurse is vital in coordinating and providing diabetes care at school. S/he also has the responsibility and training to implement the student’s individual diabetes care plan.
Special Considerations
Many children with diabetes will have specific needs in certain situations. This section will help plan for those situations.
A Team Effort
Families, schools and health care providers must work together for the benefit of the student with diabetes.
Written Care Plans
Creating a plan for how diabetes will be managed at school should be a team effort that includes school staff, families, and health care providers
Advanced School Advocacy Training Program
The ASAT Program consists of trained volunteers who provide assistance to parents/guardians to ensure that their children with diabetes are safe at school and have the same opportunity to excel as other children.