Diabetes Management in the School Setting

Students with diabetes have unique medical needs, which must be managed to assure their good health and ability to learn. School personnel equipped with the necessary knowledge, understanding, and tools can assist students with diabetes and provide a supportive environment for health and learning. Through a collaborative effort the Missouri Diabetes Prevention and Control Program is pleased to provide "Diabetes Management in the School Setting", a school manual to assist schools, local public health agencies, and health care providers support students with diabetes in the school setting.

FORMAT We have renumbered the pages in the school manual for ease in updating, so each section of the manual is now numbered separately. Some pages of the manual have been updated, but there is no need to reprint the entire manual because the majority of the manual hasn’t changed other than the page numbers or review date. You may want to reprint the pages that were updated. For a list of the pages with updates, click here.

For questions regarding the school manual or updates, please contact a member of the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program at (800) 316-0935 or DiabetesMO@dhss.mo.gov.

Individual Manual Sections are listed below. To identify the updated pages within a section, check the lower right corner of each page. Manual pages are designed for two-sided printing.
To open the entire manual in PDF format click here.

Covers, Table of Contents, and Acknowledgements (Table of Contents Updated August 2009)

Section A - First Steps pages A-1 to A-78 (Some pages updated August 2009)

Section B - Overview pages B-1 to B-8  (Reviewed August 2009)

Section C - Nutrition pages C-1 to C-14 (Reviewed August 2009)

Section D - Exercise pages D-1 to D-6 (Reviewed August 2009)

Section E - Medications pages E-1 to E-20 (Reviewed August 2009)

Section F - Glucose Management pages F-1 to F-16 (Reviewed August 2009)

Section G – Emergency Action Plan(s) and Planning Tools pages G-1 to G-6 (Some pages updated August 2009)

Section H - Health Management pages H-1 to H-8 (Some pages updated August 2009)

Section I - References pages I-1 to I-28 (Some pages updated September 2009)

Section J - Product Survey Form page J-1 (Reviewed August 2009)
(Please help us improve our manual by completing this product survey form. We welcome your feedback regarding the manual’s use in your school setting.)

Forms and Handouts contained in the manual sections listed above are provided individually for modification to suit your school’s specific needs or to allow easy access for printing and distribution.

Updated pages, click here.

Other School Resources:

• National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) has released a school guide, "Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel. The School Guide is available in pdf format here. Single copies of the School Guide are available without charge from the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse by calling (301) 634-0716 or via the order form on the NDEP website.

The following action sheets from the NDEP School Guide describe the responsibilities of each key school staff member, along with those of the parents/guardian and the student.

Actions for the School District Administrator
Actions for the Principal, School Administrator, or Designee
Actions for the School Nurse
Actions for Trained Diabetes Personnel
Actions for the Teacher
Actions for the Coach and Physical Education Instructor
Actions for the Food Service Manager, Lunchroom Staff, or Lunchroom Monitor
Actions for the Bus Driver
Actions for the Guidance Counselor or School Psychologist
Actions for the Parent or Guardian
Actions for the Student with Diabetes

NDEP has also developed a web page for school personnel. In addition to the above-mentioned school guide, the web page contains numerous other resources and web links that are helpful to school staff working with children with diabetes in the school setting. This web page can be accessed here. 

The following, colorful tip sheets from NDEP provide basic information about type 2 diabetes and encourage young people to take steps to manage the disease for a long and healthy life. Written in simple language, the tip sheets are helpful for anyone who has type 2 diabetes and their loved ones.

What is Diabetes?
What is Diabetes? (Spanish)
Be Active
Be Active (Spanish)
Stay at a Healthy Weight
Stay at a Healthy Weight (Spanish)
Eat Healthy Foods
Eat Healthy Foods (Spanish)

NDEP’s Diabetes in Children and Adolescents Work Group has developed articles for school nurses on a variety of topics related to helping students manage their diabetes in the school setting that have been published in School Nurse News. Those articles can be accessed by clicking here.

• American Diabetes Association (ADA) has developed a curriculum that serves as a companion to the NDEP School Guide.  This modular curriculum titled, "Diabetes Care Tasks At School: What Key Personnel Need To Know," can be found here.
  
  There are a number of web pages that compliment the NDEP manual and ADA curriculum guide on the American Diabetes Association website. Information on materials for schools, such as sample health plans, 504 plans, etc., can be found here. Advocacy information on discrimination issues for school children can be found here.
  
• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF) developed a School Advisory Toolkit to support and empower families as they communicate with school staff throughout the year.  Click here to access the order form for this parent toolkit, as well as additional information on diabetes in the school and college settings.