At a glance
- It's important that students with diabetes have the health services they need in school.
- Managing diabetes at school is most effective when there is a partnership among all people concerned.
- All people concerned includes: students, parents, school nurses, health care providers, teachers, counselors, coaches, transportation staff, food service employees, and administrators.
Overview
It's important to ensure that students with diabetes have the health services they need in school. This type of support allows students to stay healthy and ready to learn.
Support may include helping a student:
- Take medications.
- Check blood sugar levels.
- Choose healthy foods in the cafeteria.
- Be physically active.
Recommendations
Managing diabetes at school
Parents and schools want to ensure that students with diabetes are safe and able to learn.
Schools can:
- Work with a student's parents, doctor, and school staff to create a Diabetes Medical Management Plan.
- Make sure the plan includes services the school will provide and how to recognize high and low blood sugar levels.
- Make sure the plan outlines how to handle any diabetes-related emergencies. The plan should have updated doctor and emergency contacts.
- If a student has a low blood sugar emergency, ensure that school staff have a glucagon emergency kit and know how to use it.
For more information, visit Helping the Student With Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel, which includes emergency care plans.
Diabetes self-management
Did you know?
Diabetes self-management involves helping students manage diabetes at a level right for their age.
- If students are monitoring their own blood sugar, make sure they feel comfortable doing so.
- If a trained school employee does the monitoring, be sure the student knows where and when to go for testing.
- Encourage students to eat healthy foods, including a healthy breakfast, which will help students stay focused and active. Students and parents should look at the school menus together to make good choices for a healthy meal plan.
- Having diabetes doesn't mean that a child can't be physically active or participate in physical education classes. These students should get at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. In fact, being active can help students improve their blood sugar levels.
- Check with parents to ensure that students with diabetes have all recommended vaccinations, including the flu shot. If children with diabetes get sick, it can take them longer to recover than children without diabetes.
- Encourage students to wash their hands regularly, especially before eating and after using the bathroom.
Content Source:
Division of Adolescent and School Health; National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: National Diabetes Statistics Report: Estimates of Diabetes and Its Burden in the United States, 2014. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2014.