CREDENTIALED SCHOOL NURSES

 

  1. WHEREAS, the credentialed school nurse, with specialized medical background, academic preparation and professional skill, is a school staff member especially qualified to strengthen the educational process through improvement of the health status of students and to develop and provide leadership for the school site’s comprehensive school health program; and

 

 

  1. WHEREAS, The American Federation of Teachers, the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the California State PTA recommend that each school have available the services of a credentialed school nurse; and

 

  1. WHEREAS, chronic illnesses among children in California are increasing and obesity has been identified as a major health crisis in our state and nation and the incidence among children is increasing at a rapid rate; and

 

  1. WHEREAS, virtually all of our public schools have students with asthma, many have children who need emergency injections for severe allergies or migraine headaches, nearly half have children who need blood glucose monitoring and approximately one-quarter have children that need insulin injections at school; and

 

  1. WHEREAS, under Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, students with disabilities have the right to receive a free appropriate public education, which includes reasonable accommodations required for the management of chronic medical conditions and numerous children in regular public school classrooms in California have conditions which require special nursing procedures or monitoring; and

 

  1. WHEREAS, Section 49400 of the California Education Code requires “the governing board of any school district shall give diligent care to the health and physical development of each pupil, and may employ properly certified persons for that purpose”; and

 

  1. WHEREAS, In California the student to credentialed school nurse ratio far exceeds the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommendation of 750:1 in regular student populations and 100:1 in special needs student populations; and

 

  1. WHEREAS, optimal chronic disease management and injury prevention will decrease school absenteeism and increase student achievement; now therefore be it

 

  1. RESOLVED, that the California State PTA urge its units, councils and districts to inform students, parents, school and district staff and the community about the lack of credentialed school nurses in California’s public schools; and be it further

 

  1. RESOLVED, that the California State PTA urge its units, councils and districts to work with local school districts to accurately assess and determine the health and safety needs of the students in their communities and to determine the number of credentialed school nurses needed to safely and effectively provide the necessary care for students; and be it further

 

  1. RESOLVED, that the California State PTA urge its units, councils and districts to work with their local school districts to ensure that policies are enacted to provide appropriate health and prevention services by credentialed school nurses; and be it further

 

  1. RESOLVED, that the California State PTA urge its units, councils and districts to work with policy makers, public health agencies and local school districts  to ensure that adequate funding is available to provide appropriate health services by credentialed school nurses in California’s schools; and be it further

 

  1. RESOLVED, that the California State PTA, its units, councils and districts urge school districts to fulfill the recommendation, under Section 49400 of the California Education Code, that credentialed school nurses be employed to meet the health needs of our students.

 

Action by PTA Organizations                                                                         Position

Pleasanton PTA Council                                                                            Support:  11/8/04       

Peralta District PTA                                                                                         Support:  1/10/05

23rd District PTA

2nd District PTA

 

BACKGROUND SUMMARY

 

Many of the health challenges facing young people today are different from those of past decades, therefore it is imperative to support school health programs to improve the health status of young people.  A majority of elementary school children are obese.  An increasing number of children and adolescents are developing Type 2 diabetes, a disease usually diagnosed in adults aged 40 years and older.  Asthma has become a leading cause of school absences and hospital admissions.  These factors are demonstrated by the following statistics:

 

·        26.5% of California’s 5th, 7th & 9th graders are considered overweight

·        In California, 1 in every 300-600 children, or approximately 15,000 school-aged children is diagnosed with diabetes

·        An estimated 13.7 % to 16.3% of California children between 6-17 have been diagnosed with asthma, representing approximately one million children. 

·        In 2001, nearly 136,000 California adolescents with asthma missed one or more days of school per month

·        In regular classrooms throughout California numerous children have special needs including gastronomy feeding tubes, oxygen administration, tracheal suctioning and monitoring for seizures.

 

In July 2002, the American Federation of Teachers adopted a resolution calling for a fulltime school nurse in every school building.  The California State PTA, in a 1977 resolution “Credentialed School Nurses” encouraged school districts to make available to each school the services of a credentialed school nurse.  Similarly, the National Association of Elementary School advocates for a school nurse in every school.  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends and supports the continued strong partnership among school nurses, other school health personnel, and pediatricians to promote the health of children and youth by facilitating the development of a comprehensive school health program. 

 

Despite the widespread recognition of the critical need for school nurses, essential public health investments in school nursing have declined in many school districts in California. During the 2002-2003 school year, there were 6,2,44,403 children in the public schools and 2,466 school nurses, a ratio of one credentialed school nurse to every 2,532 students, while the nationally recommended ratio is 1:750 for regular education students and 1:100 for special needs pupils. There are too few school nurses in our schools to care for the children who rely on them.  Many parents are completely unaware that there is no credentialed school nurse or certified health professional in their child’s school. 

 

In addition to goals relating to the importance of safeguarding the health and safety of California students, investments in school nursing pay off both financially (by reducing absenteeism, controlling liability risk and increasing revenue) and in academic achievement, as research shows clear connections between improved student health and gains in student achievement.  Credentialed school nurses are critical to ensure that our children are healthy, able to learn and learn to be healthy. 

 

Pleasanton PTA Council

Credentialed School Nurses

LIST OF RESOURCES

 

1.      Action for Healthy Kids, “The Learning Connection:  The Value of Improving Nutrition and Physical Activity in our Schools”, www.actionforhealthykids.org

 

2.      Allen, G., “Impact of Elementary School Nurses on School Attendance”, Journal of School Nursing, August 2003, Vol.19, No.4, pp.225-231.

 

3.      Allensworth, D., “Comprehensive School Health Program:  Exploring an Expanded Concept”, Journal of School Health, 1987, pp. 409-12.

 

4.      American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on School Health, “The Role of the School Nurse in Providing School Health Services”, Pediatrics, 2001; 108: 1231-1232.

 

5.      American Federation of Teachers, “School Nurses:  every child needs a school nurse”, www.aft.org/healthcare/schoolnurses/

 

6.      American School Health Association, “School Health Policies and Programs Study 2000”, Journal of School Health, Sept. 2001, Vol.71, No. 7

 

7.      Black, Susan, “Prescription for Learning:  School nurses play a key role in student achievement – or could, if there were enough of them”, American School Board Journal, March 2003:  Vol. 190, No. 3.

 

8.      California Department of Education, “Number of Pupil Services Staff by Type” 2002-2003

 

9.      California Department of Health Services, “Guidelines for the Management of Asthma in California Schools:  A comprehensive resource for school health and other personnel to address asthma in the school setting”, April 2004

 

10.  California Education Code, Section 49500.

 

11.  California School Boards Association, “Linkages Between Student Health and Academic Achievement”, 2004.

 

12.  California School Nurses Organization, “School nurses contribute to the financial and academic health of the school district”.

 

13.  Carolyn Fisher, EdD, Pete Hunt, MPH, Laura Kann, PhD, Lloyd Kolbe, PhD, Beth Patterson, Med & Howell Wechsler, EdD; “Building a Healthier Future Through School Health Programs”

 

14.  Council of Chief State School Officers, “Policy Statement on School Health”, July 17, 2004

 

15.  Denehy, J., “Measuring the Outcomes of Nursing Practice:  Showing That School Nurses Do Make a Difference”, Journal of School Nursing, February 2000.

 

16.  Environmental Health Investigations Branch, “Asthma in California”, www.dhs.ca.gov/ehib2/topics/asthma.html

 

17.  Lucille Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, “Statistics Relating to Overweight Children”, December 2003

 

18.  Magnuson, Peter, “Nursing Necessity”, National Association of Elementary School Principals Communicator, November 2002:  Vol. 27, No. 3, pp.1, 7.

 

19.  Maughan, E., “Impact of School Nursing on School Performance:  A Research Synthesis”, Journal of School Nursing, June 2003, Vol. 19, No.3, pp.163-171.

 

20.  National Association of Elementary School Principals, “Platform 2003-2004:  School Health Services”

 

21.  National Governors’ Association, “Issue Brief:  Improving Academic Performance by Meeting Student Health Needs”, October 13, 2000, www.nga.org

 

22.  National PTA, “Position Statement:  Elements of Comprehensive Health Programs”, Originally adopted by convention delegates in 1973, revised in 1982, 1984, 1987, 1992, 1996 and 2002. 

 

23.  O’Meara, Sean, “Who’s Taking Care of Our Kids?  Nurses Speak Out About California’s Under funded School Health Programs”, Nurses World Magazine, Oct.2004

 

24.  Romano, Jane C., “The Complicated Task of Managing School Health Programs”, Journal of School Nursing, June 2001, Vol. 17, No.3, pp.126-130.

 

25.  Stock, J.L. et al, “Measuring Outcomes of School Nursing Services”, Journal of School Nursing, December 2002, Vol.18, No.6, pp.353-359.

 

26.  Northern California Council for the Community, “Data Central:  Asthma”, www.ncccsf.org/report/bh-asthma.htm

 

 

27.  United States Department of Health & Human Services, “The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity:  The Problem of Overweight in Children and Adolescents”, www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/fact_adolescents.htm