JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A recent incident at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School has sparked concerns about the diabetes policy in Duval County schools. An employee’s experience has raised questions about the adequacy of training for those administering insulin to students.
Brittanni Sheppard, an office assistant at Thomas Jefferson Elementary, shared her experience during a public comment session at the March 4 school board meeting. She recounted a situation on Jan. 31 when she had to administer insulin to a student due to the absence of the school health aide.
“On Jan. 31, one thing I tried to avoid happened,” Sheppard said. “His insulin dropped, and it was because it was administered by me too early in the rush caring for other children.”
Sheppard explained that she was responsible for monitoring the student’s glucose levels and administering insulin, despite having only a high school diploma and minimal training.
“I have a certificate for four-hour training and basic medication administration and less than 30 minutes last-minute training to care for the child with diabetes,” she said.
Tammie Brooks-Evans, president of Duval Teachers United, also expressed her concerns at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
“We were really concerned when they were asking her with four hours of training, and now you’re going to calculate the kids' carbs, figure out the blood sugar, decide how much insulin you’re going to give them, and then give the child insulin,” Brooks-Evans said.
News4JAX reviewed the district’s diabetes policy. Page 5 of the policy has the beginning of a section on the management of the student with diabetes.
The first line of that section says, “The safety of the diabetic student is the primary consideration in the delivery of all health-related services provided in the school.” It goes on to list the responsibilities of various team members including healthcare providers, parents or guardians, students, school registered nurses, and health room personnel.
However, Brooks-Evans noted that a backup nurse was unavailable on the day of the incident, leaving Sheppard to handle the situation alone.
“She became the person who had to calculate for the student’s insulin. We are very lucky that nothing more happened to the student,” Brooks-Evans said. She emphasized the need for clarity in job descriptions and the importance of ensuring that staff are adequately trained to handle such responsibilities.
In response to inquiries about the incident, Laureen Ricks, a representative for the school district, responded with this statement:
We can share that your questions regarding who can administer insulin to students are addressed in the Diabetes policy guide we provided in a previous email. Those individuals include a properly trained office assistant.
The district is looking into this situation in collaboration with school leadership.
Laureen Ricks, DCPS Representative
