relating to the care of elementary and secondary school students with diabetes. ( a) A diabetes management and treatment plan must be developed and implemented …
79R3937 SLO-D
By: Reyna HB No 984
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the care of elementary and secondary school students with
diabetes
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1 Subtitle H, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 168 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 168 CARE OF STUDENTS WITH DIABETES
Sec 168001 DEFINITIONS In this chapter:
1 Diabetes management and treatment plan means the document
required by Section 168002
2 Individualized health plan means the document required by
Section 168003
3 Principal includes the principals designee
4 School means a public elementary or secondary school
The term does not include an open-enrollment charter school established
under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code
5 School employee means a person employed by:
A a school;
B a local health department that assists a school under
this chapter; or
C another entity with which a school has contracted
to
perform its duties under this chapter
6 Unlicensed diabetes care assistant means a school
employee who has successfully completed the training required by Section
168004
Sec 168002 DIABETES MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT PLAN a A
diabetes management and treatment plan must be developed and implemented
for each student with diabetes who will seek care for the students
diabetes while at school or while participating in a school activity The
plan shall be developed by:
1 the students parent or guardian; and
2 the students personal health care team
b A diabetes management and treatment plan must:
1 identify the health care services the student may receive
at school;
2 evaluate the students ability to manage and level of
understanding of the students diabetes; and
3 be signed by the students parent or guardian and the
students personal health care team
c The parent or guardian of a student with diabetes who seeks care
for the students diabetes while the student is at school shall submit to
the school a copy of the students diabetes
management and treatment plan
The plan must be submitted to and reviewed by the school:
1 before or at the beginning of the school year;
2 on enrollment of the student, if the student enrolls in the
school after the beginning of the school year; or
3 as soon as practicable following a diagnosis of diabetes
for the student
Sec 168003 INDIVIDUALIZED HEALTH PLAN a An individualized
health plan is a coordinated plan of care designed to meet the unique
health care needs of a student with diabetes in the school setting
b An individualized health plan must be developed for each student
with diabetes who will seek care for diabetes while at school or while
participating in a school activity The school principal and the school
nurse, if a school nurse is assigned to the school, shall develop a
students individualized health plan in collaboration with the students
parent or guardian and, to the extent practicable, the students personal
health care team and one or more of the students teachers
c A students individualized health plan must incorporate
components of the students
diabetes management and treatment plan,
including the information required under Section 168002b A school
shall develop a students individualized health plan on receiving the
students diabetes management and treatment plan
Sec 168004 UNLICENSED DIABETES CARE ASSISTANT a The Texas
Diabetes Council shall develop guidelines, with the assistance of the
following entities, for the training of school employees who are not health
care professionals to become unlicensed diabetes care assistants and care
for students with diabetes:
1 the departments School Health Program;
2 the American Diabetes Association;
3 the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International;
4 the American Association of Diabetes Educators;
5 the Texas Nurses Association;
6 the Texas School Nurse Organization; and
7 the Texas Education Agency
b If a school nurse is assigned to a campus, the school nurse shall
coordinate training and supervising school employees acting as unlicensed
diabetes care assistants If a school nurse is not assigned to a campus:
1 an
unlicensed diabetes care assistant must have access to
an individual with expertise in the care of persons with diabetes, such as
a physician, a registered nurse, a certified diabetes educator, or a
licensed dietitian; or
2 the principal must have access to a licensed health care
professional who is a member of the students personal health team
c Training under this section must be provided by a health care
professional with expertise in the care of persons with diabetes or by the
school nurse The training must be provided before the beginning of the
school year or as soon as practicable following:
1 the enrollment of a student with diabetes at a campus that
previously had no students with diabetes; or
2 a diagnosis of diabetes for a student at a campus that
previously had no students with diabetes
d The training must include instruction in:
1 recognizing the symptoms of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia;
2 understanding the proper action to take if the blood
glucose levels of a student with diabetes are outside the target ranges
indicated by the students diabetes
management and treatment plan;
3 understanding the details of a students individualized
health plan;
4 performing finger-sticks to check blood glucose levels,
checking urine ketone levels, and recording the results of those checks;
5 properly administering glucagon and insulin and recording
the results of the administration;
6 recognizing complications that require seeking emergency
assistance; and
7 understanding the recommended schedules and food intake for
meals and snacks for a student with diabetes, the effect of physical
activity on blood glucose levels, and the proper actions to be taken if a
students schedule is disrupted
e The school nurse or principal shall maintain a copy of the
training guidelines and any records associated with the training
f The board of trustees of a school district shall ensure that
there are at least three unlicensed diabetes care assistants at each campus
attended by one or more students with diabetes
Sec 168005 REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES A school
district shall provide to each district employee who is
responsible for
providing transportation for a student with diabetes or supervising a
student with diabetes during an off-campus activity a one-page information
sheet that:
1 identifies the student who has diabetes;
2 identifies potential emergencies that may occur as a result
of the students diabetes and the appropriate responses to such
emergencies; and
3 provides the telephone number of a contact person in case
of an emergency involving the student with diabetes
Sec 168006 REQUIRED CARE OF STUDENTS WITH DIABETES a At the
request of a parent or guardian of a student with diabetes and in
compliance with the students individualized health plan, an unlicensed
diabetes care assistant shall:
1 take the proper action to treat the students symptoms of
hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia;
2 respond to the students blood glucose level if it is
outside the target range specified in the diabetes management and treatment
plan;
3 administer glucagon to the student;
4 administer insulin to the student or assist the student in
administering insulin
through an insulin delivery system that the student
uses;
5 administer oral diabetes medication to the student;
6 check and record the students blood glucose levels and
urine ketone levels or assist the student with checking and recording those
levels; and
7 assist the student in following instructions regarding
meals, snacks, and physical activity
b A school shall ensure that a school nurse or at least one
unlicensed diabetes care assistant is present and available to provide the
required care to a student with diabetes during the regular school day
c A school district may not restrict the assignment of a student
with diabetes to a particular campus on the basis that the campus does not
have the required unlicensed diabetes care assistants
d An unlicensed diabetes care assistant who performs an activity
described by Subsection a in compliance with a students individualized
health plan:
1 is not considered to be engaging in the practice of
professional or vocational nursing under Chapter 301, Occupations Code, or
other state law; and
2 is exempt from
any applicable state law or rule that
restricts the activities that may be performed by a person who is not a
health care professional
Sec 168007 INDEPENDENT MONITORING AND TREATMENT On the written
request of a parent or guardian of a student with diabetes, and in
accordance with the students diabetes management and treatment plan, a
school shall permit the student to:
1 perform blood glucose level checks;
2 administer insulin through the insulin delivery system the
student uses;
3 treat hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia;
4 possess on the students person at any time any supplies or
equipment necessary to monitor and care for the students diabetes; and
5 otherwise attend to the management and care of the
students diabetes in the classroom, in any area of the school or school
grounds, or at any school-related activity
SECTION 2 Chapter 168, Health and Safety Code, applies beginning
with the 2005-2006 school year
SECTION 3 This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of
two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by
Section
39, Article III, Texas Constitution If this Act does not receive the vote
necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2005
Source:capitol.state.tx.us
