The number of school-aged students with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds is increasing across the US. In the latest Journal of School Nursing (JOSN) podcast, Martha Dewey JOSN interviews author Sheryl Bennett about the article "School Nurses' Language Needs When Caring for Students from Limited English Proficiency Households." Listen now.

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NASN's new free educational activity, Pediatric to Adult Care Transition for Students with Childhood Onset Lupus—The School Nurse Role in Care Coordination and Transition Planning, offers 1.0 NCPD contact hour and provides evidence-based current information, tools, resources, and strategies to support the school nurse role in transition planning for students with lupus, emphasizing health equity for at-risk students. 

Join us for the next Meet the Editor web meeting on Tuesday, September 17 at 3:30 PM ET. The Journal of School Nursing Editor, Dr. Martha Dewey Bergren, and NASN School Nurse Editor, Dr. Cathy Yonkaitis, will provide tips for authors and field comments and questions during this interactive meeting where you will learn common reasons for “desk rejects” and be able to identify critical steps to follow before manuscript submission. Register now. 

Join NASN, the CDC, the Department of Education, and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation on September 25 from 3:00-4:30 PM ET for a live webinar, Vaccinations for School-Age Children: An Opportunity for Health Promotion, Collaboration, and Family Engagement! School and healthcare attendees will receive training on the latest Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) vaccination recommendations for K-12 students, and evidence-based strategies and promising practices for strengthening childhood vaccination coverage. Register now.

The training will also be recorded and available on CDC TRAIN for one year. 1.5 continuing education (CNE, CEU, CPH, CHES) credits for this activity are pending.

The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness, in collaboration with NASN, has a toolkit designed to support school nurses, school staff, parents, and caregivers during World Sight Day. The toolkit encompasses online eye health and safety information, financial aid resources, practical tips, and engaging activity ideas. Together, we aim to improve children’s vision health and readiness to learn as well as promote equity and access to eye care. Check out the toolkit.

Related Resources: See NASN's Vision and Eye Health web page for more information.

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This section highlights news stories featuring NASN and school nurses. If you have a story about school nurses you'd like us to consider including, please send it to us.

• 4 Things People Get Wrong About Head Lice (Source: consumerreports.org)
• Claim That Schools Are Performing Trans Surgeries (Source: politifact.com)
• As School Begins, Nurses Face High Turnover and Heightened Student Mental Health Needs (Source: mprnews.org)
• School Nurses Prepare for a Year With the Lowest Vaccination Rates in a Decade (Source: wpr.org)
• Deadline Approaches for Immunization Requirements in Arkansas Public Schools (Source: 5newsonline.com)
• Mary Ellen Duggan Named Applefest Grand Marshal (Source: communityadvocate.com)
• School Nurses May Follow Doctor’s Orders Instead of Parent’s Orders if a Student Needs Medicine (Source: kxan.com)
• School and Clinic Partner up for Care (Source: fairmontsentinel.com)
• K-12 School Nurses Trained in Mental Health First Aid (Source: vdh.virginia.gov)

School nurses play a critical role in identifying children with chronic illnesses such as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long COVID (Post-COVID Conditions [PCC]). The free NASN NCPD program, ME/CFS and Long-COVID: The School Nurse Role in Identifying Children with Chronic Illness, is designed to help you understand your role and responsibilities in identifying the symptoms, referring students for further medical evaluation, and the health and academic impacts experienced by students. 

Related Resources: The School Nurse-Led Active Surveillance Manual guides school nurses in establishing surveillance to identify and track conditions like ME/CFS.

The American Medical Informatics Association has modified its fall 2024 survey to better capture the school nurse practice setting and role. Please use YOUR voice to include school nurses in the discussion of documentation burden. Share your perspective by taking the 2-minute TrendBurden survey by September 26. Participation is voluntary, and you don't need to share identifiable information.  

To assist health and mental health professionals working in K-12 schools in understanding how the federal health privacy laws apply to student mental health information, the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network and the Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information are hosting the 90-minute virtual training Making Sense of Health Privacy Laws: HIPAA and FERPA for School-Based Health Professionals, on September 19, at 1 PM ET. Register to attend. 

Related Resources: NASN's data initiative, National School Health Data Set: Every Student Counts!, is not just about collecting data but also about building school nurses' skills and knowledge regarding data use. The information here provides resources, including documents, past webinars, and presentation templates, that you can use to increase your data literacy. 

Join Attendance Works and Attendance Awareness Campaign (AAC) partners for the last AAC 2024 free webinar, Leadership for Sustainability: Superintendents Making a Difference, on September 25 at 3 PM ET. Speakers will share their top strategies and lessons learned about equipping schools to take a data-informed approach to chronic absence and provide a deeper look into developing messaging that motivates families to send their children to school in person. 

NASN Calendar of Events

This calendar includes upcoming events hosted by NASN and NASN affiliate school nurse organizations. Access the calendar.

National Health Observances Calendar

This calendar lists special days, weeks, or months dedicated to raising awareness about important health topics. Access the 2024 calendar. 

Acceptance of advertising on the top or bottom ad banner or other ad placements in this newsletter or resource information listed within in no way implies endorsement of advertised or listed products or services by NASN.

No endorsement is intended or implied.