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For Immediate Release
September 17, 2025
Contact: Kate McDuffie
National Association of School Nurses
kmcduffie@nasn.org
SILVER SPRING, MD — The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) recognizes that school emergencies take many forms, including medical crises, natural disasters, infectious disease outbreaks, and acts of violence. The closure of the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA) Center on September 18, 2025, removes a vital, federally funded source of no-cost, evidence-based resources and training for schools. This leaves schools without a critical partner at a time when the need has never been greater.
“Without REMS TA, districts—particularly those with limited resources—risk losing access to the training and guidance that turn emergency plans into effective, coordinated action,” said Terri Hinkley, NASN CEO. “School nurses know that preparedness saves lives. We call on federal leaders to ensure continuity of this vital support.”
While state agencies play an important role in school safety, no individual state has the capacity, breadth, or national intelligence needed to address the full spectrum of threats and hazards. The REMS TA Center provided a nationwide evidence base, cross-state learning, and timely federal guidance that no single state system can replicate. Sustained federal investment is essential to ensure equity, consistency, and readiness for all schools, not just those in well-resourced states.
School Nurses at the Front Line of Safety
- Emergency Operations Leadership: School nurses are essential partners in developing and implementing Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs). They bring a health and safety lens that ensures responses are not only effective but also trauma-informed, developmentally appropriate, and centered on student well-being.
- Translating Evidence into Action: From multidisciplinary threat assessment teams to age-appropriate drills and bleeding control readiness, school nurses help operationalize evidence-based practices, so they become living, practiced systems within schools.
- Championing Prevention: NASN emphasizes the importance of universal prevention strategies, including safe firearm storage education, communicable disease mitigation, and emergency medical readiness, as cornerstones of community health and school safety.
Call to Action
NASN urges:
- Federal and state policymakers must establish sustainable funding for technical assistance, training, and evidence-based safety guidance.
- Communities should reinforce universal preventative measures, whether that’s safe firearm storage, infectious disease mitigation, or medical readiness like bleeding control, to protect students in every emergency.
- District leaders must integrate school nurses as essential partners in all emergency planning, response, and recovery efforts.
- Lawmakers and education leaders must address the fact that not all schools even have a school nurse, leaving gaps in health expertise, emergency readiness capacity. Ensuring every student has access to a school nurse is a fundamental step toward safer, healthier schools.
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About NASN
The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) is a nonprofit specialty nursing organization, organized in 1968 and incorporated in 1977, representing school nurses exclusively. NASN has more than 18,000 members. The mission of NASN is to optimize student health and learning by advancing the practice of school nursing. To learn more about NASN, please visit us on the Web at www.nasn.org or call 866-627-6767.
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