Diabetes News
ADA Fought Hard for Legislation, Signed Today By Governor Perry, to Ensure That Children With Diabetes in Texas Public Schools Have Equal Educational Opportunities
AUSTIN, July 6, 2005 (PRNewswire) — The American Diabetes Association (ADA) today applauded the signing of the "Diabetes School Care Act," legislation that will help ensure that Texas public schools are responsive to the medical and educational needs of students with diabetes. Governor Perry signed the bill this morning. The Association, including volunteers throughout the State, was a primary backer of the bipartisan legislation, which will allow school personnel to be trained in diabetes care appropriate for the student and allow students with diabetes to self manage their disease on school property. Diabetes management is accomplished with blood glucose monitoring, administration of insulin and other medications, as well as proper nutrition and exercise. Many children are able to handle their own daily care, while others may need adult assistance. This legislation, sponsored in the House by Rep. Elvira Reyna (R-Mesquite) and in the Senate by Sen. Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock), helps make schools safer and healthier environments for children with diabetes.
"Now, more than ever, schools need to be responsive to the medical and educational needs of students with diabetes," said David M. Davis, Chairman of the ADA's Central Texas Leadership Council in Austin, whose daughter died of complications related to type 1 diabetes. "Coping with this serious, chronic disease is difficult for our children already. They should be able to attend school knowing that they will have the proper care and same educational opportunities that their peers do. We need to ensure that students with diabetes can learn in a healthy and safe environment. This bill goes a long way toward making that a reality for children with diabetes throughout Texas, and we applaud the bill's sponsors for their leadership in the Legislature and Governor Perry for signing it into law."
The Diabetes School Care Act establishes that a diabetes management and treatment plan be developed by the student's health care team so his or her needs and the school's responsibilities are clearly stated. The bill states that while the school nurse has the central role in the provision and coordination of diabetes-related care at school, school personnel will also be trained to provide supplemental diabetes care, particularly when the nurse is unavailable.
Additionally, the bill ensures that schools are friendly toward blood glucose monitoring, with students having the ability to monitor in the classroom or wherever they happen to be. The bill also addresses insulin administration, whether it is performed by the student or a properly trained school staff member.
Said Sen. Robert Duncan, one of the bill's sponsors: "Passage of this legislation was critical for the thousands of young Texans who struggle with diabetes. I'm proud to have worked with the American Diabetes Association to help students with diabetes access the care they need during the school day."
Added Rep. Reyna: "It is of utmost importance that we take responsibility to ensure that our children with diabetes are properly cared for at all times."
This legislation addresses a host of issues that students with diabetes have had to deal with in the past. During the debate on the legislation, a number of parents and children with diabetes highlighted issues concerning students' difficulty to properly manage their disease at school. For instance, at a March hearing in the House Committee on Public Education, Don Yarborough and his son, Beau, of Garland, spoke of some difficulties Beau faced after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the seventh grade. In that first year of having diabetes, Beau's math teacher held him after class because he thought Beau was "faking" the need for his frequent trips to the nurse's office to test his blood sugar level. A year later, Beau asked another teacher if he could go to the nurse's office, but the teacher said he couldn't leave because he would disturb the class.
"Had Beau been able to test and manage his diabetes in class, he would have been able to avoid many, if not all of the problems that he has faced since being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes during seventh grade," Don Yarborough said. "Beau would not have been deprived of valuable learning time and other students in his class would not have been interrupted as well. I strongly feel that proper monitoring, management, and understanding of this disease can be very effectively handled by the student in the classroom, with minimum or no distraction to the other students."
Diabetes is one of this nation's most prevalent, debilitating, deadly and costly diseases. While 18.2 million Americans live with diabetes today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in three Americans born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime. In 2002, one in 10 healthcare dollars went towards diabetes care. The cost of diabetes in America in 2002 was at least $132 billion.
The American Diabetes Association is the nation's leading voluntary health organization supporting diabetes research, information and advocacy. The Association's advocacy efforts include helping to combat discrimination against people with diabetes; advocating for the increase of federal diabetes research and programs; and improved access to, and quality of, healthcare for people with diabetes. The Association's mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. Founded in 1940, the Association provides service to hundreds of communities across the country. For more information please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit http://www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.