Email from National Association of School Nurses NASN Strongly Condemns Layoffs at OSERS The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) strongly condemns the recent layoffs at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) within the U.S. Department of Education. This action jeopardizes federal oversight of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the essential rights of children with disabilities. School nurses are often the first line of support for students with disabilities, ensuring access to education, health services, and a safe participation in school life. Prior to IDEA’s passage, 50 years ago, many children with disabilities were denied access to public education entirely. IDEA serves as a vital safeguard for millions of students, ensuring their access to services and supports that promote educational success and lifelong opportunity. Read NASN's full release. Visit NASN's Action Center and make your voice heard! Federal Government Remains Shut Down The federal government shut down two weeks ago after Senate and House Democrats failed to reach a funding agreement. See below for what a shutdown looks like across HHS. As of October 13, the Trump administration reported that over the weekend, between 1,100 and 1,200 federal employees were fired at HHS and another 600 at CDC. CDC: Around 36 percent of CDC staff remain working, with the agency continuing its responses to urgent outbreaks. Other mandatory programs are not affected, like the Vaccines for Children program, which provides free immunizations to uninsured or underinsured children, and the World Trade Center Health Program, which offers free medical monitoring and treatment to people affected by the 9/11 attacks. NIH: NIH has retained roughly 25 percent of its staff. Operations at the agency’s biomedical research hospital, the NIH Clinical Center, will mostly continue. But other basic research conducted by the agency’s scientists would come to a halt. CMS: The Medicare program continues, and the agency will likely have enough to fund Medicaid through the first quarter of FY 2026, according to its shutdown plan. The agency will also retain essential staff to process Children’s Health Insurance Program payments to eligible states. More than half of CMS staff continue working, but policymaking and oversight of CMS contractors will likely halt. FDA: The FDA has largely continued operations, with 86 percent of staff still working. User fee funding would support review and marketing authorization of new medical products during the shutdown and other work related to helping patients access new drugs or therapies. Emergency responses—like managing recalls—are also expected to continue. Source: Politico What You Need to Know About Vaccines Senate Spotlight Forum on Vaccines Denise Buffin, President of the Delaware School Nurse Association, participated in Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester’s (D-DE) Spotlight Forum, “Back to School: Navigating Vaccine Uncertainty in Trump’s America,” which focused on the importance and safety of vaccinations, as well as the long-standing roles of the CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in guiding immunization practices. The forum was sandwiched between Secretary of Health and Human Service (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Senate Finance Committee appearance and before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee’s hearing with the recently fired former Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Susan Monarez, who was removed from her post because she refused to comply with Secretary Kennedy’s directives on vaccines. According to Senator Blunt Rochester, “He’s created barriers – intentionally or not – that limit vaccine choice. States are now left to their own devices. And the health of students is now entirely dependent on their zip-code.” The full statement is here. View the Full Spotlight Forum NASN Releases Updated Position Statement on Immunizations NASN released an updated position statement, Immunization and Vaccination Requirements, last week, underscoring the essential role of timely, up-to-date, and complete vaccinations in protecting school-age youth, staff, and communities from preventable, serious infectious diseases. NASN calls for school immunization requirements to be aligned with the best available scientific evidence and recommends eliminating vaccine exemptions, except in cases of validated medical contraindications. Read the full release as well as NASN's release with FASN on Florida’s Plan to Eliminate School Vaccine Requirements. See all of NASN's resources on immunizations. NASN Urges Sustained National Commitment to School Safety and Emergency Preparedness Following REMS TA Center Closure The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) recognizes that school emergencies take many forms, including medical crises, natural disasters, infectious disease outbreaks, and acts of violence. The closure of the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA) Center on September 18, 2025, removes a vital, federally funded source of no-cost, evidence-based resources and training for schools. This leaves schools without a critical partner at a time when the need has never been greater. “Without REMS TA, districts—particularly those with limited resources—risk losing access to the training and guidance that turn emergency plans into effective, coordinated action,” said Terri Hinkley, NASN CEO. “School nurses know that preparedness saves lives. We call on federal leaders to ensure continuity of this vital support.” Read the full NASN statement. The Consequences of Cutting or Defunding CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) CDC’s school health program is a proven, cost-effective way to improve adolescent health and wellbeing and delivers results for just $7 per student while reaching over 20 million students. If funding for CDC school health programs is cut, the following impacts will occur: Data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, the largest youth health survey in the U.S. with more than 5 million students participating in 35 years, will cease. YRBS is relied upon by the federal government, states, localities, and tribes to identify problems and track progress. Without YRBS, we lose the ability to identify emerging problems.   Data from CDC’s School Health Profiles, the only tool that has tracked school health policies and practices such as prohibiting advertisements for candy, fast food restaurants, or soft drinks in school, across the U.S. for the past 25 years, will cease. This would also end our ability to track emerging policies of interest such as student cell phone bans in schools. States and localities will have nearly $20 million less to support a data-driven approach to empower schools, parents, families, and community partners to promote youth health. Specifically, Programs that led to significant declines in risky health behaviors among high school students including substance use, symptoms of depression, suicide attempts, and violence, will cease. Programs that led to increased availability of healthier foods and beverages, better case management of chronic conditions, and a 39% jump in physical activity programs in schools, will cease. Defunding CDC’s school health programs will eliminate the free, publicly available tools and resources that states and local communities rely on to implement school-based, data-driven strategies for healthy youth. Youth Physical and Mental Health is at a Crisis America’s adolescents are struggling—and without DASH, we risk turning a crisis into a catastrophe. 60% of U.S. high school students report symptoms of depression. 75% do not meet basic physical activity guidelines. Over 50% of 18-year-olds are ineligible for military service due to physical, mental, or behavioral health conditions. Cutting DASH means cutting critical supports when youth are most vulnerable. Why This Matters Defunding DASH doesn’t just harm students now—it sets us all back in the future. Poor physical and mental health habits in youth carry into adulthood, driving unsustainable healthcare costs. Healthy students are better learners, more likely to graduate, and more likely to thrive as adults—academically, economically, and emotionally. Supporting adolescent health provides a triple return on investment: healthier kids today, healthier adults tomorrow, and healthier families for generations. DASH is Efficient, Effective, and Irreplaceable DASH is a proven, cost-effective solution—delivering results for just $7 per student while reaching over 20 million students. DASH provides the largest youth health surveillance system in the U.S., with over 5 million survey responses collected over 35 years. It enables data-driven action and funds interventions proven to reduce risky behaviors and improve youth health outcomes. While CDC publishes extensively on YRBS data, the field more broadly accounts for 80% of publications. In just two years (2018–2020), DASH funding helped schools: Increase implementation of physical activity programs by 39%. Expand case management for students with chronic conditions by 14%. Without DASH, State and Local Successes Would be Compromised Eliminating DASH would dismantle success stories across the nation: In Palm Beach County, FL, 91.8% of school staff were trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid—impacting nearly 190,000 students. Oklahoma’s Painted Play Spaces increased student physical activity by 26.7%. Shelby County, TN saw a 150% jump in school-based health clinic usage after student-led outreach. Montana used DASH data to shape statewide cannabis advertising policy—protecting youth from harmful messaging. Bottom Line Defunding DASH means: Flying blind without reliable youth health data. Abandoning 20 plus million students in need. Sacrificing public health, educational achievement, military readiness, and our nation’s future. Now is not the time to pull back—now is the time to invest. See more information. Autism Announcement from White House In a high-profile announcement, President Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unveiled a federal initiative aimed at addressing what they call an “autism epidemic,” with a particular focus on new FDA warning labels for acetaminophen (Tylenol) use during pregnancy. Citing observational studies that suggest a potential link between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and autism or ADHD, officials including FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary and NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya stressed that the science is still unsettled. The FDA itself acknowledged that no causal relationship has been proven and that conflicting research exists, but said the label change is a precautionary step as part of a broader autism response plan. The announcement has triggered a wave of concern and confusion—not just among expecting parents, but also among parents of older children with autism. Many worry the government’s messaging may imply blame or oversimplify a complex condition with multiple genetic and environmental factors. Health experts caution that emphasizing a single potential cause risks stigmatizing parents while doing little to help those already raising autistic children, who often face challenges accessing support and services. Advocates stress that while further research is important, policies must avoid fear-based narratives and focus on real-world support for autistic individuals and their families at every stage of life. For information that school nurses use to inform parents, please click here.   State-by-State Legislation California  CA Lawsuit Narrowly Defines “Doctor” Texas  Texas School Nurses and Health Leaders Call for Urgent Clarification of SB 12 Implementation Check Out a Full Legislative Tracking Chart View as Webpage Did you enjoy this email? 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