BILL NUMBER:  S5679

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the education law, in relation to when school
personnel may adjust a student's dosage of insulin

 PURPOSE :

To clarify that licensed school personnel may adjust the dosage of
prescribed insulin under instructions of the prescriber of the insulin
with parental consent

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 amends subdivision 1 of section 902-a of the education law,
as added by chapter 423 of the laws of 2014, to provide that licensed
nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, or physicians
employed by school districts or boards of cooperative educational
services are authorized to administer prescribed insulin, which may
include adjusting the dosage of the insulin under instructions from
the prescriber or instructions from the parent or person in parental
relationship where explicitly authorized by the prescriber.

Section 2 amends section 6909 of the education law by adding a new
subdivision 9 to provide that a registered professional nurse, when
              

administering insulin under a prescription, may vary the insulin
dosage under instructions from the parent or person in parental
relationship where explicitly authorized by the prescriber.

Section 3 provides the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Children with diabetes require close monitoring and management as
their insulin needs fluctuate throughout the day and from day to day.
To monitor their needs, children may wear a continual glucose monitor
(CGM) to track glucose levels at regular intervals throughout the
school day, providing the readings on the CGM and transmitting
concurrently the data to a child's parent on a computer, smartphone or
tablet. With such monitoring devices, a parent is alerted immediately
if the child's blood sugar level drops to a dangerously low level or a
high preset level. Armed with the data, a parent can contact a school
nurse to request that the child's insulin dosage be adjusted depending
on the reading provided by the CGM.

Current law authorizes licensed nurses, nurse practitioners, physician
assistants, or physicians employed by school districts or boards of
cooperative educational services to, among other things, calculate
prescribed insulin dosages, administer prescribed insulin, program the
prescribed insulin pump, refill the reservoir in the insulin pump, and
inject prescribed glucagon to pupils who have received written
permission by a physician and written parental consent to carry and
use insulin and glucagon during the school day.

Nevertheless, some school nurses believe they are not permitted under
the law to adjust the levels of the insulin during the day as directed
by a parent even though the child's physician has written an order
that provides for the administration of insulin and adjustment of
dosage upon request by the parent. As a result, a parent must
interrupt his or her job or other responsibilities to go immediately
to the child's school and adjust the dosage in person. Such frequent
and unscheduled disruptions may force a parent to take an unpaid leave
of absence, imposing economic hardship on the family and straining the
emotional well-being of the child with diabetes and the child's
family.
To remove any ambiguity in the law and eliminate any inconsistency in
the administration by licensed school personnel in school districts
and BOCES throughout the State of prescribed insulin dosage, this bill
makes clear that such school personnel may adjust the insulin dosage,
including by insulin pump or other device, under instructions to such
school personnel from a parent or person in parental relationship
where adjustment of dosage is explicitly authorized by the prescriber.
In this way we can ensure that children with diabetes can obtain the
insulin dosage they need on a timely basis.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None to the State.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.