By Christina Samuels
Lay school personnel may administer insulin to students with diabetes under the proper circumstances, California’s highest court ruled on Monday. The court rejected arguments from nursing groups that state rules allowing lay school workers to administer insulin condoned a form of unauthorized practice of nursing.
The unanimous decision by the California Supreme Court has implications for students with special education or treatment plans under federal disabilities laws. The Obama administration filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case arguing that schools may use lay personnel to administer insulin when complying with a student’s plan.