The Hamilton County school board updated its policy to protect nurses helping students in emergency situations in response to a new Tennessee law requiring schools to receive parental consent before administering medical treatment.
The state law, passed earlier this year, aims to protect parents’ rights and requires schools to obtain consent from parents for a variety of actions, including before offering nonemergency medical care. It also empowers parents to sue, and providers who fail to get consent can have their licenses revoked.
In Hamilton County, under the updated school board policy, a sick or injured child will be sent to the nurse’s office. If a parent has not submitted a consent form, the nurse’s first step is to contact the parent for instructions. If there aren’t instructions from the parent and the parent can’t be reached in a reasonable amount of time, a nurse who believes for the sake of the child’s well-being that professional measures need to be taken will be protected and defended by the district.
The school board approved the policy Thursday by a 10-0 v0te. School board member Karitsa Jones, D-Chattanooga, was absent.
“We want them to know that we do have their back on this,” school board member Rhonda Thurman, R-Hixson, said. “That we will stand by them if they treat a student and maybe the parent has failed to fill out the form or something. If they have to treat a student, this board will have their back. We just want them to be rest assured of that.”
Under the policy, the administration will send home a consent form to parents or guardians of each student at the start of the school year. Parents and guardians can grant or withhold consent for the school’s nursing staff to administer aid in emergency and nonemergency situations and to follow any medical orders that may be on file.
School board member Marco Perez, independent of Signal Mountain, said he’d already heard of some instances of the new law causing confusion for teachers.
“This was not thought through with regards to the practical reality of a daily school operation,” he said. “It’s affected people everywhere. I’m glad we’ve clarified it, and I’m especially glad we’re protecting nurses in the process.”
Contact Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.