Testing in the classroom

Hi everyone,

My son is in the public school pre-K and has been tested in the classroom by the school nurse for the last year. (He’s 3, diagnosed at 2.) The school now wants him to go to the nurse’s office for testing which we oppose. The school superintendent denied our request and we plan to go to the Board of Ed. My questions for all of you are (as we prep material for the Board):

  • On average how much classroom time has your child missed from going to the nurse for testing?
  • What is the practice at your school if a student is too young to self-manage?
  • Why do you think it’s important for a child to be tested in the nurse’s office?

Also, if anyone knows of any child psychologists or social workers who can provide information on this topic that would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks!
Elizabeth

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My son is older now so he self manages and he was diagnosed at age 7. But when he was younger he did go to the nurse’s office. I approximate he missed about 20 minutes of class time per day and 5-10 minutes of lunch/recess

My impression of WHY they want someone to test anywhere else usually has to do with fears about exposure to blood. My question is, does the classroom have a sink? If so, they really won’t have a leg to stand on in this kerfuffle.

From my own experience as an adult, I was going to a dermatological clinic to get ultraviolet treatments for psoriasis. I heard from one of the nurses that there was now a policy that blood testing has to be done in the bathroom.

I asked to talk to the person who was responsible for the new policy in the office. Going somewhere else to find out that my blood glucose is 28 is dangerous. Pure and simple. I was so upset that I said I would seek that person out the next time I was there (I took the bus there). The next time I was there, I was told that the policy wouldn’t apply to me, so I never felt the need to pursue it.

It is really a question of safety for the diabetic. There are times when going somewhere else to test puts them in danger of passing out from low blood glucose. It is literally part of medical treatment. Correcting without testing is dangerous, too.

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The reson has little to do wiht your child and the otehrsint he school. THe strong preferance for many schools (certianily the ones I worked with) was that the nurse remin in the office to the maximum extent possibile. The reson is that when an ill perosn in the building needs help they coem to the nurses office. If the nurse is out, this means that emmergancy care can be delayed.

Suppose your child went low and a sub were inthe room, where is she instruted to take him? To the nurse of course. In a building there may be dozens of medical conitions many of which you are likely not aware of. Yes as parents we think first of our own child, but the school has to think of all of them. It is unlikely they coudl tell you if such an event has occured.

If youare interested in discussing this situation with an attorney trained in this type of law, check with the local ADA office and ask for the legal advocacy contact. They will be able to advise on all matters related to ADA and local legislation. The service is free and they are very good.

best,

rick

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I’m a huge believer in in-class testing, whether it be done by trained staff (including teachers) or by the children themselves. I cannot even begin to estimate the amount of time my daughter missed from class before her 504 plan made her “independent”. I’m sure her grades suffered because of this (she is a TAG student and rarely got higher than a B- average before she remained in class for D-related tasks).

Do you want your child wander the school with a low?

And your point is ???

Does the school nurse come to the class room and than do the testing in the class or do the child have to go to the nurse?

If the child has to go to the nurse with a low then ???

OK, I’m following you now. Thanks for the clarification!