NASN convened a coalition of health, public health and education organizations to inform safer school reopening. As a result, a letter requesting funding for a safer return to school was sent to Senator McConnell and Senator Schumer. Read NASN's letter.

NASN promotes a decision-making process for a safer return to in-person learning that is based on accurate public health data at the national, state and local levels. The safety of students and staff must take priority in this decision-making. A safer return to schools, one in which students, families and staff will feel confident, requires that prior to a return to in-person learning, schools develop and implement infectious disease readiness and emergency management procedures for students and staff, based on current public health guidance and in which sufficient funding is allocated for the implementation of sanitation and safety protocols, including personal protective equipment (PPE) and the hiring/retention of school nurses to coordinate health and safety procedures.

NASN and school nurses have been widely represented in the news media over the past few months and we are now including a section in the Weekly Digest to highlight some of those stories twice a month. If you have a story about school nurses you'd like us to consider including, please send it to us.

It is critical during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure routine vaccination is maintained to protect people of all ages -- in particular those with underlying chronic health conditions - against vaccine-preventable diseases. Check out CDC’s NIAM digital communication toolkits. Share these messages and resources throughout the month of August using hashtag #ivax2protect.

CDC will also be hosting an Instagram Q&A event for parents on August 24 from 12-2 p.m. ET to answer questions about the importance of maintaining routine immunization during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Planning for the Next Normal at School: Keeping students, staff, teachers, and families safe and healthy playbook, is now live on the Thriving Schools Website. This playbook, developed in partnership with over 30 trusted school health organizations, offers school and district leaders with five “starter” plays, or practical strategies and actionable steps per chapter, to address the dimensions of health that are critical for effective teaching and learning in an in-person, virtual, or hybrid environment.

The Planning for the Next Normal at School playbook, includes curated tools, resources, and helpful links to implement starter plays in five key areas:

Attendance Works is kicking off the 2020 Attendance Awareness Campaign. Their theme “Present, Engaged and Supported” recognizes that strong, trusting relationships that create belonging are fundamental to improving student attendance and participation. Hear from practitioners about preparing for the return to school, whether learning takes place in-person, virtually or in some other form.

Since the 2014 reversal of the free care policy, 13 states have expanded their school-based Medicaid programs and have—or are projected to—significantly increase their federal revenue. Increasing access to and resources for critical health services in schools is more important than ever. This webinar will provide an in-depth look at trends in expanding school-based Medicaid programs, including detailed information about how states have successfully structured their programs. Presenters from Colorado and Michigan will share how they expanded and are implementing their programs and highlight key decisions they made along the way. 

The National School Health Data Set invites nurses to submit data that is de-identified in accordance with law and school district policy. This webinar provides an overview of the National School Health Data Set and briefly reviews applicable federal privacy law. We will then explore resources for finding summaries of state privacy laws, as well as questions that nurses can ask to find district data privacy policies. The webinar will also review a checklist that is designed to assist school nurses with identifying and complying with state and district data privacy policies.

Join the American Cleaning Institute and experts from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for a webinar designed to help school nurses and administrators develop their school plan, taking into consideration the vital role of hand hygiene, as well as cleaning and disinfecting, in helping to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 within school communities. Get resources and recommendations from the CDC on preparing for K-12 school reopening and operations during the COVID-19 pandemic and use this opportunity to ask questions. 

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