What is a school-based Individual Health Plan? And when should my child have one?
At a recent fall football gathering, as my husband and I sat outside, a couple was detailing their struggles with their son’s epilepsy in school. Another friend, a special education teacher in another school system, asked about his health plan. Their response? He doesn’t have one.
Unfortunately, the lack of Individual Health Plans for children with health conditions, from Asthma to Allergies and from Diabetes to Epilepsy, just to name a few, is so prevalent across the United States that the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America actually includes a section of their website with how to deal with the school refusing to put in place plans with a link to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) so that parents can file a complaint.
I sat there feeling that usual feeling of frustration at the lack of information (and necessary services) shared with families by schools. It’s not malicious, many teachers aren’t taught the law either in school or by their school corporations, and unfortunately, most parents don’t know the rights of their children. The results can be devastating.
An "individual health plan," is an affirmative obligation of the school and should focus exclusively on addressing a student's medical needs.
An individual has a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA) if he has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. 28 CFR 35.108 (a)(1). An individual health plan is a plan that is designed to focus on the child’s health needs within the school. It provides the health and medical services that the child will need in school and what steps are necessary in case of emergency. These plans can include information from a physician, how medication is to be administered, and symptoms associated with the child’s condition that school staff needs to be on the look-out for during the day.
For instance, in this young man’s case, a health plan would detail his epilepsy, the medications that may need to be administered in school by the nurse, the steps that a teacher or school staff needs to take if he begins to experience a seizure, if there are triggers, and what steps to take after the seizure.
All staff, not just the nurse, should be educated on his medical needs. These types of plans are essential to keeping students safe in school. I have often heard schools tell parents that the plan is “only for the nurse” only to hear from those same parents after a diabetic child suffered a severe low blood sugar episode in a class with a teacher who wasn’t educated on the child’s condition and thought they were “just being lazy” when they wouldn’t lift their head from their desk.
These plans can be especially critical when students have allergies and can have anaphylactic reactions or for students who are diabetics. Every staff member working with the child, especially young students, needs to understand the child’s needs, emergency steps, and what steps to take following this critical situation. This is detailed in the individual health plan. If the child has a 504 plan or IEP than this plan can be incorporated into those programs and should be actively discussed by the committee. Every staff member working with a child with a disability should be educated on that child’s needs.
Individual Health Care Plans can be stand alone programs and it is important to differentiate them from Section 504 plans. A Section 504 Plan is an “accommodation” based document designed to provide, well, exactly that, accommodations within the educational setting for a student with a disability that requires accommodations. This would include things such as preferential seating, reduced homework, and being excused from class if a child has a medical occurrence. It is not a health plan although a health care plan can be incorporated into it or attached to it.
Please find links below to resources that provide sample plans for kids in school.
General Guide for Development – any disability
Diabetes – The Americans with Disabilities Association
https://diabetes.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/dmmp-4-14-22.pdf
Epilepsy – Epilepsy Foundation
Allergies
https://www.isbe.net/Documents/indiv_hlth_care_plan.pdf
https://www.in.gov/doe/files/sample-food-allergy-anaphylaxis-emergency-care-plan-english.pdf
Need to file a Complaint? Contact the Office of Civil Rights or an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.
https://www2.ed.gov/about/contacts/gen/index.html?src=ft#civil