20
Update on ISBE Rules
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) voted
to approve changes to the Certified School Nurse
mandate that delays implementation until 2016 and
includes options to certifications for Registered
Nurses (RNs), Advance Practice Nurses (APNs) and
physicians.
The Joint Committee for Administrative Rules
(JCAR) is expected to approve ISBE’s
recommendation at its September 17 meeting given
the fact that the unions and the Illinois School Nurses
Association appear to be in agreement with the
compromises reached by State Superintendent Dr.
Chris Koch and ISBE. If JCAR approves the
recommendation, the rule would take effect in late
September or early October.
One key aspect of the rule is that ISBE will be
making available in the spring of 2014 webinar
training that
must
be completed by July 1, 2016 by all
current school nurses who do not have the
certification. Completion of this required training is
imperative for those nurses to be able to continue by
that 2016 date.
The rule mandating that all school districts must
hire Certified School Nurses (CSNs) was to have
gone into effect July 1 of this year, but several
factors, including a shortage of CSNs and of colleges
or universities offering the certification program, and
the higher cost to school districts at a time when the
education budget has been slashed caused ISBE to
reconsider the mandate.
The proposal approved by ISBE and heading to
JCAR allows individuals who are qualified under the
previous rule to continue to conduct the full medical
review until July 1, 2016, at which time they must
have completed either the necessary training or have
passed the content-area test for the school nurse
endorsement to remain qualified.
The proposed rules include the following points:
Delaying implementation until July 1,
2016;
ISBE providing mandatory webinar
training beginning in the spring of 2014 for
those school nurses and others who are
not certified as a CSN. This training
regarding all components of a medical
review,
including
making
recommendations concerning educational
accommodations,
modifications
and
interventions
must
be completed by July 1,
2016;
An option for testing to be provided to
allow RNs, APNs or physicians to show
competency in the areas listed above, with
successful completion of training or
passage of content-area tests to authorize
these
individuals
to
provide
recommendations for accommodations,
modifications or interventions that can be
part of the medical review (Section
226.160 (c)(1) );
In order to maintain these authorizations, anyone
completing the training or passing the tests still would
need to complete any professional development
required of CSNs under ISBE rules governing
Certification (23 Ill. Code 25.275);
The Bachelor’s Degree required of an RN after
July 1, 2016, must be in nursing, education or a
related field; and
A District or Cooperative must document their
inability to recruit a CSN.
On a related mandate topic, the ISBE Board is
expected to consider at its next meeting (September
18-19) the proposal to change the 70/30 rule as it
pertains to the percentage of students requiring an
Individual Education Program (IEP) that are allowed
in a general education class. State Superintendent
Koch has been an advocate for allowing local school
boards to determine class sizes and ratios. If ISBE
approves the changes Koch is recommending, then
they would have to go through the JCAR process.
JCAR expected to approve Certified School Nurse changes
