INSULIN

The Assembly Select Committee on Child/Adolescent Health and Safety will be holding a public hearing in Sacramento likely in Fall 2009, regarding the administration of insulin in schools. The Committee is expected to have three panels 1) Framing the issue; 2) Medical implications; and 3) Legal implications. As many of you are aware, there is a pending bill AB 1430 that would require insulin be administered only by a licensed health care professional. There is also an ongoing California Court of Appeals case brought by the American Nurses Association that seeks to affirm that position. We anticipate that this restriction would be very difficult and expensive for most schools to implement. Therefore, it may be very important for the Assembly Committee to hear from schools on this issue. If you are interested in helping the State develop practical and flexible rules regarding who may administer insulin in educational settings that range from public schools, non-public schools, field trips, charter schools, to alternative educational settings, please contact this office.
Your assistance can take the form of affidavits or narrative descriptions of prior incidents, problems, anticipated problems, or past successes to share with the Committee either through your own testimony or by contributing to testimony our office expects to provide on the legal panel for the hearing. School and College Legal Services of California will facilitate at no charge, information to be shared with the Committee. We will be providing testimony about the legal implications of AB 1430 and the need for flexible rules for districts that lack ready access to health care professionals. You do not necessarily need to be currently serving a student who requires insulin in order to submit your opinions on the proposed legislation. Please contact Marko Fong, Assistant General Counsel, if you have any questions and/or to submit a response.