Children living with chronic health conditions go to school every day. Schools must provide services to meet your child's health needs by following rules surrounding the safe delivery of health services
Eight items schools and families should know
- Public schools are required to employ a licensed school nurse. (Iowa Code 256.11.9B)
- Nonpublic schools are not required to employ a licensed school nurse.
- Since 2007, public schools are required to work towards a goal of on nurse for every 750 children. (Iowa Code 256.11.9B)
- School nurses are not required to be employed full-time.
- Public and nonpublic schools are required to develop and follow policies surrounding safe delivery of health services (Iowa Administrative Code 281-14.2) and medication administration by a licensed nurse or qualified designated person (Iowa Administrative Code 281-14.1).
- The school nurse is required to assign and supervise delegated activities and functions to unlicensed personnel. (Iowa Administrative Code 655-6.2(5))
- The school nurse is required to supervise, monitor and evaluate delegated tasks or activities. (Iowa Administrative Code 281-14.2)
- School leaders are obligated to comply with all laws and ensure the person delivering or delegating health services is appropriately licensed or qualified. (Iowa Administrative Code 282-25.3)
Understanding Delegation
Schools use the Delegation and the Iowa School Nurse document to understand the process of transferring the delivery of health services from the nurse to others.
Chronic Health Conditions Resources
The following resources assist safe health service delivery to students. Parents, the child’s healthcare provider and school are a team working together to meet the needs of children with chronic health conditions.
| Condition | Resources/Tools |
|---|---|
| Allergies | Voluntary Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies in Schools and Early Care and Education Programs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) |
| Asthma | Asthma-Friendly Schools Initiative Resources and Tools (American Lung Association) Asthma Publications and Resources - CDC Healthy Schools (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) |
| Concussion and Other Brain Injuries | Concussion Awareness (Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)) - Scroll down the page for sections specifically devoted to Student/Family Team and School Academic Team resources. |
| Diabetes | Managing Diabetes at School (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) |
| Mental Health | Mental Health webpage (Iowa Department of Education) |
| Seizure Disorder | Epilepsy Learning Portal (Epilepsy Foundation) |
Other Health Concerns & Illness
Parents and schools often have questions about managing other health concerns and illness. Parents, the child’s healthcare provider and school are a team working together to address illnesses and other health related matters.
| Concern or Illness | Resources/Tools |
|---|---|
| Head Lice | Head lice are not a health hazard. See the following resources for parents on lice prevention and prevention measures for schools:
|
| Flu and Absenteeism Reporting | Iowa Influenza Surveillance (HHS) |
| Need more information on other diseases and conditions? | Visit the HHS Disease Information webpage. Click on the + sign to expand the information and resources about each disease. Refer to your child’s healthcare provider for additional information. |
| Common child illness exclusion criteria | Guidance for schools and childcare centers to help determine when a child should be temporarily excluded from the school or child care setting. Child Illness and Exclusion Criteria for Education and Child Care Settings (HHS) |