The school nurse plays a critical role in supporting the health, wellness, and academic success of students. Their role includes the following:
- Assessing the severity of illness or injury in students.
- Distributing medications to student that is provided and approved by their parents and healthcare providers.
- Caring for students with chronic conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy/seizures, asthma, allergies/anaphylaxis, and others.
- Screening students for vision, hearing, and other potential health issues.
- Preventing and controlling the spread of communicable diseases.
- Connecting students and their families to relevant health resources.
- Collecting health data in schools to provide to local, state, and national officials.
- Promotion of overall school community health through education and wellness initiatives.
- Provides health services that increase school attendance
- Verifies immunizations to keep the school in compliance with state mandates
- Educates students and staff on managing their health and wellness
- Assists in the evaluation of students for special education services
Health Guidelines and information for Parents/Guardians:
Chronic Health Conditions if your child has a chronic health condition, please communicate this to the school nurse to best care for your child while in school. If your child has asthma, food allergies, diabetes, or epilepsy please see the forms provided and have your child’s provider complete them. New forms need completed at the beginning of every school year.
Head Lice If a student is found to have head lice, a parent/guardian will be notified and advised to come pick up the student and taken home for treatment with medicated shampoo or lotion. Students may return to school the following day once treated. Upon return to school the student may be checked again for lice per student or parent request.
Classroom checks are no longer completed. By the time a child with an active lice infestation has been identified, they may have had the infestation for one month or more, posing little additional risk of transmission to others.
For frequently asked questions and recommendations for caregivers, please see the following link and you will find the most up to date information on head lice: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/health/programs/school-health/environmental
Health Screenings The school nurse will screen for growth, vision, and hearing during the school year. The extent of the routine screening will depend on the student's grade level per Pennsylvania Department of Health guidelines. If a parent/guardian or teacher is concerned, the school nurse will follow up with the appropriate screening and refer for further evaluation if warranted. A referral letter will come home with the student to have completed by the appropriate provider and returned to the school nurse.
Illness or Injury Parents/guardians will be contacted if your child becomes ill or injured at school.
I need to stay home if:
Immunizations:
Before enrollment in our school district, parents must provide an immunization record showing the dates of required immunizations. Per the Pennsylvania Department of Health a student must have the required doses complete, or medically appropriate doses up to date and a plan in place for remaining doses by the fifth day of school, or they are at risk of exclusion.
These requirements allow for the following exemptions: medical reason, religious belief, or philosophical/strong moral or ethical conviction. Even if your child is exempt from immunizations, he or she may be excluded from school during an outbreak of vaccine preventable disease. If you need an exemption form, please call the school nurse.
The following website has more information on what immunizations are required: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/health/programs/school-health/requirements#accordion-47fbd63e01-item-00844305ba
Medications Administration during school Hours:
Medications given at school are limited to those the child requires to improve or maintain student health and participate in the school program. Whenever possible, medications should be administered before or after school hours. All medications to be administered during school hours need a doctor’s order and a permission to administer form completed. This also includes inhalers, insulin, EpiPens and any other as needed and over the counter medications. Please see the forms tab to print a copy, complete, and return to the school nurse.
Physicals and Dental exams:
Physical exams are required for students entering into school, grade 6, grade 11, or entering a Pennsylvania school for the first time.
Dental examinations are required for students entering into school, grade 3, and grade 7. If your child has received a dental examination, please have your dentist complete the Dental Form and submit it to the school nurse.
Type 1 Diabetes Information:
This type 1 diabetes information was developed pursuant to Pennsylvania School Code (24 P.S. 1414.12), and is for school entities and nonpublic schools to provide to parents and guardians of incoming elementary school students and students entering grade six, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
Type 1 diabetes in children is an autoimmune disease that can be fatal if untreated, and the guidance provided in this information sheet is intended to raise awareness about this disease.
Description
Type 1 diabetes usually develops in children and young adults but can occur at any age.
- Type 1 diabetes can appear at any age, but it generally appears at two noticeable peaks. The first peak occurs in children between 4 and 7 years old. The second is in children between 10 and 14 years old (Mayo Clinic).
- Normally the body turns the carbohydrates in food into glucose (blood sugar), the basic fuel for the body's cells.
- The pancreas makes insulin, a hormone that moves glucose from the blood into the cells.
- In type 1 diabetes, the body's pancreas stops making insulin, and blood glucose levels rise.
- Over time, glucose can reach dangerously high levels in the blood, which is called hyperglycemia.
- Untreated hyperglycemia can result in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which is a life- threatening complication of diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes Treatments
There are no known ways to prevent type 1 diabetes. Once type 1 diabetes develops, medication is the only treatment. If your child is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, their health care provider will be able to help develop a treatment plan. Your chid's health care provider may refer your child to an endocrinologist, a doctor specializing in the endocrine system and its disorders, such as diabetes.
Contact your child's school nurse, school administrator, or health care provider if you have questions.
References
Centers For Disease Control and Prevention: About Type 1 Diabetes
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Type 1 Diabetes
Mayo Clinic
Medline Plus: National Library of Medicine; Type 1 Diabetes