WHEREAS, On December 31st, 2011, with a budget shortfall of more than seven-hundred million dollars ($700,000,000), the School District of Philadelphia, in an effort to alleviate some of the aforementioned financial burden, laid off 47 school nurses; and
WHEREAS, At the end of the 2011 - 2012 school year, as a result of subsequent layoffs and the retirement of 25 school nurses, the School District of Philadelphia had seen a net loss of greater than 100 school nurses; and
WHEREAS, With regards to the impact on students as a result of the loss of school nurses, an online survey administered by the Education Law Center to local parent organizations, the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners - Philadelphia Region, and special education and disability rights advocacy organizations revealed that medications and/or treatments were being administered by teachers or aides, that children are not receiving urgent medical care, that children do not receive treatments at prescribed intervals, and that children do not receive evaluations for a disability in a timely manner (
The school nurse shortage in Philadelphia: prognosis & prescription for change
, Education Law Center, 2013); and
WHEREAS, The School District of Philadelphia is legally obligated to provide nursing services to children with special needs, e.g., autism, and qualifying disabilities such as asthma and diabetes, among others (
Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act
and
Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
); and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's School Code requires that a child in, private, parochial and public schools shall be provided with school nurse services in the school which the child attends; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the City Council of the City of Philadelphia calls on the School District of Philadelphia to restore School Nurses to each and every school in the District.
End