Appendix A: California Department of Education (CDE) K.C. Settlement Agreement and Legal Advisory
state law. The Department issued that document in August 2007, and the federal court dismissed
the action.
In the 2007 Legal Advisory, as relevant here, the Department articulates eight categories
of persons authorized to administer insulin to students in the state ’ s public schools. The
Department describes the first seven categories as specifically authorized in statutory exceptions
to the Nursing Practice Act (Bus. & Prof. Code, §§ 2725, subd. (b)(2), 2727, subd. (d)) and in a
regulation concerning the administration of medication adopted by the Board (Cal. Code Regs.,
tit. 5, § 604). Briefly, those seven categories include: (1) students who are able to self-administer,
(2) nurses and physicians employed by local education agencies, (3) other school employees who
are appropriately licensed health care providers, (4) licensed nurses working pursuant to
contracts with schools, (5) parents and guardians, (6) persons designated by parents or guardians
who are volunteers but not school employees, and (7) trained, unlicensed school employees
acting in emergencies. (2007 Legal Advisory, pt. IV.A.)
The 2007 Legal Advisory also recognizes that some students cannot self-administer
insulin, that licensed health care providers are not always available when needed, and that federal
law does not permit schools to impose the cost of administering insulin on parents. On that basis,
the Department concludes as follows: “When federal and state laws are reconciled, it is clear that
it is unlawful for [a local education agency] to have a general practice or policy that asserts it
need not comply with the IDEA or Section 504 rights of a student to have insulin administered at
school simply because a licensed professional is unavailable. In such situations, federal rights
take precedence over strict adherence to state law so that the educational and health needs of the
student protected by the Section 504 Plan or IEP are met.” (2007 Legal Advisory, par. IV.C.) So
BP 2006 – Provision of Healthcare Services
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Desert Mountain Special Education Local Plan Area (DMSELPA) (rev. 11/16)
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