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What is
the law now? Currently there is no consistency in Canada regarding the care of children with diabetes in schools. There are boards such as Ottawa-Carlton and Lethbridge, who have taken it upon themselves to draft very specific policy dealing with this chronic illness. They are the exception. Most schools throughout the country deal with diabetes in one of two ways—they either have parents sign an “Administering Medicine in Schools” form or have them complete an Individual Support Services Plan (ISSP). Neither of these forms truly outline the responsibilities, needs, and roles of the school, the parent or the student. Why do we need change? As we all know, diabetes care has changed monumentally in the past 10 years. At one time, children with diabetes were sent to school with only lows to worry about. Small glucometers, multiple daily injections, ketone meters, and insulin pumps either did not exist or were a rarity. This is not the case today. Today, we have more technology, more knowledge of what diabetes is all about, and more children than ever who are living with this disease. That sadly does not mean that the school system or the general public is any more aware than they were ten years ago. What is being done elsewhere? The USA offers a unique solution to the problem of diabetes care in schools. Because the disease falls under Section 504 of the American Rehabilitation Act, children in federally funded schools are able to work with their schools to create individual care plans. These plans include things like when and where testing will take place, what do to in case of highs or lows, who will ensure that the child eats all of the food sent to school, allowing a child to test before an exam to ensure they are not cognitively impaired by hypo or hyperglycemia and giving them the option to retest at a more appropriate time, etc. Should a federally funded school fail to honour what is noted in the “504 Plan”, they can be penalized by the Office of Civil Rights. But we live in Canada… In Canada, our education funding works much differently than in the US. We are not able to implement legislation and demand that all province follow through or else. Recently, however, we have seen some interesting changes in policies. The most relevant to us is a legislative change in the province of Ontario. In January of 2006, Ontario implemented a private members bill called Sabrina’s Law. This law protects children with life-threatening allergies and demands that a care plan be put in place for each and every child in Ontario who goes to school and has life-threatening allergies. How does that help children with diabetes? It doesn’t but it does open a new door. An Individual Health Care Plan (IHCP) would not simply deal with children with diabetes but all children with life-threatening illnesses chronic. It would follow the guidelines of Sabrina’s Law. Each school would be required to meet with the parents of children with life-threatening, chronic illnesses at the beginning of each school year. They would establish the protocol of dealing with the child’s illness and care. The plan would outline responsibilities of all parties involved. It would provide an Emergency Care Section, a section requiring in-services for all staff members who come in contact with the child, as well as information for supply teachers. Why would schools want to adopt this plan? Today we are seeing a significant rise in the number of health care issues that schools and personnel have to deal with on a regular basis. To create a policy for each disease is timely and costly. An IHCP would solve that issue while protecting all children.
Is this something that you could see happening in your province? Would you be interested in seeing it implemented? Please let us know what you think Write to your Minister of Education and ask that he/she adopt either a Medical Care Plan or more specifically a policy for Children with Diabetes in their Schools. Sample letters can be found on our sample page.
Diabetes Advocacy's Individual Medical Care Plan for Children with Life Threatening Illness
Definitions Look at our Initiatives page and help create change! If your board or province is not mentioned then help us to create real change there as well!!! If you don't feel this policy goes far enough, our much more detail policy is found on our draft page.
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This page was last updated on
February 10, 2008
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