EVERY CHILD NEEDS A SCHOOL NURSE

WHEREAS, every child must be ready to learn, having their basic needs first met so that they may achieve optimal physical, emotional, social and educational development and be prepared for full participation in society; and

WHEREAS, a professional registered nurse certified by the appropriate state agency provides unique and valuable services to students, parents and school personnel; and

WHEREAS, through public schools, communities can work together in unprecedented ways to eliminate barriers to learning and to provide access to healthcare for children and families; and

WHEREAS, the country's school nurses are pivotal members of a coordinated school health system, delivering services to children and, thereby, eliminating health disparities and barriers and supporting academic success for all children; and

WHEREAS, school nurses provide vital links between public and private resources and programs, collaboration between schools and health and human service agencies to bring school and community services to schools, and support efforts to connect families to insurance programs to meet the needs of children and families; and

WHEREAS, school nurses create and maintain safe school environments; provide mandatory health education, health screenings and immunizations; deliver early intervention services; design wellness-driven programs; and provide vital medical services to students with chronic and acute illnesses; and

WHEREAS, these essential services require specially educated and experienced professional personnel:

RESOLVED, that the AFT support school nurses as providers of necessary healthcare for children that ensures academic success; and

RESOLVED, that AFT Healthcare, through its program and policy council and school nurse subcommittee, develop and implement a public relations campaign to educate policymakers and the public about the significant role that school nurses play in the lives of our nation's children; and

RESOLVED, that to enhance the educational process for students, the AFT support the services of a professional certified registered nurse in every school; and

RESOLVED, in addition to having at least one full-time school nurse in every school, AFT support the ratio of students for each professional certified registered nurse to be 1:750 or fraction thereof for regular students, 1:225 or fraction thereof for mainstreamed students, or 1:125 or fraction thereof for severely/profoundly handicapped students; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT, its affiliates and locals lobby state legislatures for legislation requiring a school nurse in every school to provide necessary medical services to our children; and

RESOLVED, that AFT locals work to negotiate language in public school contracts calling for the employment of at least one school nurse in every school.