SPRINGFIELD – To ensure students with diabetes are safe in school, and have the same access to academic opportunities as other children, State Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) has sponsored legislation to protect and provide commonsense care for diabetic children.

“Unfortunately, there is no standard policy outlining how Illinois schools should care for diabetic students. This creates a problem for parents who often have to go to school during the day to ensure their child is receiving the medical treatment and attention they need. It’s also dangerous for the student, negatively impacts their classroom experience, and creates uncertainty for administrators and educators, who often have little or no experience in dealing with diabetes,” Dillard explained.

Senate Bill 3822 would allow a parent with a diabetic child to submit a diabetes care plan to a public, private or charter school. The plan would include reasonable requests for services and accommodations, must reflect the current standard of diabetic care, and include appropriate safeguards to ensure diabetic equipment is disposed of properly.

Dillard said that often diabetic students miss out on classroom experiences because they are in the nurse’s office for blood testing or insulin injections. Some school districts prohibit students from carrying their blood testing equipment and medicine with them. On other occasions, students have been barred from school activities simply because they are diabetic.

If Senate Bill 3822 is signed into law, students would be allowed to check their own blood glucose, administer insulin and carry at all times the supplies and equipment he or she needs to monitor and treat diabetes. Diabetic students would also be allowed to participate in all school-related activities, and cannot be restricted from attending a certain school simply because that school does not have a nurse.

The legislation was recently approved by the Senate Public Health Committee and now awaits consideration by the entire Senate.