Reproduced from the American Diabetes Association Safe at School Statement of Principles
Diabetes
must be managed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Effective diabetes
management during the many hours a child with diabetes spends at school
and school-related activities is vital to the short- and long-term
health of a child living with diabetes.
Effective diabetes management is crucial:
- for the immediate safety of students with diabetes;
- for the long-term health of students with diabetes;
- to ensure that students with diabetes are ready to learn and to participate fully in school activities; and
- to minimize the possibility that diabetes-related emergencies will disrupt classroom activities.
Such management requires a team effort that includes school
personnel, the student with diabetes, the student's parents/guardians,
and the family's health care providers.
The undersigned organizations endorse the following principles to
ensure diabetes is properly managed whenever a child with diabetes is
present at school or a school-related activity.
- All school staff members who have responsibility for a student with
diabetes should receive training that provides a basic understanding of
the disease and the student’s needs, how to identify medical
emergencies, and which school staff members to contact with questions
or in case of an emergency.
- The school nurse holds a primary role of coordinating, monitoring,
and supervising the care of a student with diabetes. However, in
addition to any full- or part-time school nurse, a small group of
school staff members should receive training from a qualified health
care professional in routine and emergency diabetes care so that a
staff member is always available for younger or less-experienced
students who require assistance with their diabetes management (e.g.,
administering insulin, checking their blood glucose, choosing
appropriate food) and for all students with diabetes in case of an
emergency (including administration of glucagon). These staff members
should be school personnel who have volunteered to do these tasks and
do not need to be health care professionals.
- Children possessing the necessary skills and maturity to do so
should be permitted to self-manage their disease in the classroom or
wherever they are in conjunction with a school-related activity. Such
self-management should include monitoring blood glucose and responding
to blood glucose levels with needed food and medication while utilizing
appropriate safety protocols.
Organizations endorsing the Safe at School Statement of Principles
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
American Association of Diabetes Educators
American Diabetes Association
American Dietetic Association
Children with Diabetes
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society
Pediatrics Endocrine Nursing Society | 
