When Jennifer Economy’s son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 12, he had to rely on a vial of insulin, a syringe and a finger prick.
There was one problem — school policies meant her son couldn’t do what he needed to manage his blood sugar while at his middle school in Chesapeake.
“We were told that my son was not allowed to check his blood sugar in the classroom, that it would be too distracting to the other students,” Economy said. “We were told he was not allowed to carry his own supplies with him.”
Instead, Economy said the school told her he would have to keep everything in the nurse’s office. That can be dangerous, she explained — a diabetic experiencing low blood sugar could pass out while walking to the nurse’s office, or not have access to their medical supplies in the event of a lockdown.
So she called for a meeting to get his accommodations in place. She made a binder to hand out to his teachers and administrators with the laws and information about Type 1 diabetes.
“After that, the principal pulled me aside, and she thanked me for presenting them with all that information,” Economy said. “Because she said they had been doing things the same way for so long they weren’t aware that things had changed.”
Economy said her son was old enough when he was diagnosed that he was able to self-manage. But for young kids who need more help, she said, there should be a better system in place to ensure modern standards of care are being followed.
Eight years after her son was diagnosed, a pair of bills will update state law on how schools accommodate students with diabetes. Economy was a part of advocacy group FollowT1Ds that fought to get those changes made.
Senate Bill 122 says school boards can’t prohibit qualified employees from helping students with diabetes insert or reinsert their insulin pump or glucose monitoring devices.
HB 1301 allows students to carry and use cell phones to contact parents or health providers about their diabetes care. It also requires school boards to create plans for caring for students with diabetes and ensures each school that has a student with diabetes has at least one employee trained in insulin administration.
Sen. Jeremy McPike, a Democrat representing parts of Prince William and Stafford Counties, was the chief patron of SB122. He said he had been hearing stories from parents about how difficult it was for their diabetic children to get assistance.
He was able to connect with Kerry Murphy, the founder of FollowT1Ds and a resident of Prince William County in Northern Virginia. Murphy has a daughter with diabetes and said she found other parents on social media who experienced issues with school accommodations.
“I would see these posts in our local groups about my district not doing particular accommodations and I knew from my involvement in other pages, this was the same complaint happening in almost every single state in the country,” Murphy said.
McPike described parents and families as their own “small lobbying army” that rallied and organized, meeting with legislators to help get the bill passed.
“So many families feel unheard, overwhelmed, and are unable to be here themselves,” Economy said during HB1301’s testimony. “I’m speaking for them, and for every child who deserves safe, consistent diabetes care in school.”
In Chesapeake, schools have already launched a remote blood sugar monitoring program to assist students with diabetes. Director of Communications Jay Lewter said Chesapeake Public Schools will work closely with families, staff and medical providers to ensure the schools are aligned with the law and support the needs of students. He also said CPS had a plan in place to make adjustments for the next school year.
The laws will go into effect July 1.