Leadership Matters September 2013 .pub

Update on ISBE Rules

JCAR expected to approve Certified School Nurse changes

 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.

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;

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