WEDNESDAY, JULY 1

TBD

Epilepsy is one of the most common serious brain conditions of increasing burden that affects people of all ages across our nation and the world. The common statistic that most people see is that one in twenty-six people has epilepsy. Children and adolescents are among the most vulnerable populations affected by epilepsy. For children with epilepsy, various school programs and personalized help at school can help them understand their condition, recognize seizure symptoms, and know how to respond to a seizure within their personal environment. < br>< br>Nurse - patient communication has always been a cornerstone to providing high quality and professional care. Examples of empathetic communication given in research include areas such as: having humanistic and unique behaviors with the person, providing a calm and happy environment for the person; and reducing the persons’ fear and consolation to them. In the theory of human-to-human relationships, it is believed that the empathic nurse can understand another person's distress, identify its source, and predict the behavior that will result from it. < br>< br>School nurses are at the center to provide proper care, create action plans, and to assist the child or adolescent on this journey. This session will look deeper at the impact that a school nurse with epilepsy can have on a student and their family with epilepsy, and how the use of empathic communication can have a profound effect when backed by lived experience. This session will show how a school nurse can provide health expertise in the school and work setting and also show the practice and modeling of proper seizure self-care within a variety of social and environmental areas. It will also focus on the school environment and age and how proper modeling and communication can affect a students health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.

The National Association of School Nurses' (NASN) School Nursing Practice Framework™ provides a structured approach to address environmental health concerns in schools. First, in Care Coordination, school nurses can develop care plans that assess environmental factors affecting student health, such as air quality and exposure to toxins, while collaborating with families and healthcare providers to educate them about the importance of a healthy environment. Second, Quality Improvement can ensure that nursing practices address immediate environmental health needs and promote sustainable health practices that protect the environment. Third, in terms of Leadership, school nurses can advocate for policies that promote environmental health within schools, and develop emergency plans that consider environmental hazards. Lastly, the Community/Public Health principle emphasizes the role of school nurses in addressing public health issues related to environmental factors, promoting health initiatives that focus on sustainability, such as healthy eating campaigns. By leveraging the NASN Framework, school nurses can advocate for and implement programs that educate students, families, and staff about environmental health concerns. This presentation will include real-life examples, such as a case study on integrating the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit's (PEHSU) Healthy Homes and Healthy Schools training into a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program for school nurses. Perspectives from a student, a professor, and an administrator involved in this project will be shared, highlighting how empowering school nurses with this training enhances the overall health of school communities and promotes sustainable practices that benefit both students and the environment.

Creating a safe learning environment requires a community-based, comprehensive, and holistic approach, in which a wide range of school community members, including school nurses, play a role. Join a representative from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) School Safety Task Force and a Nursing Education & Practice Specialist to explore evidence-based practices to address the evolving security risks that K-12 schools face. The presenters will share research-informed strategies and recommendations that enhance safe and supportive learning environments through collaborative, holistic, and actionable approaches. This session will focus on what schools can do to improve their campuses’ physical security and the role that school nurses can play in preventing, recognizing, and responding to threats of violence. This session will walk attendees through a tailorable, web-based vulnerability analysis and provides results and recommendations that can be integrated into a school’s existing safety and security plans. Attendees will also deepen their understanding that effective emergency preparedness and planning is an essential component of school safety. This includes key actions schools can take to prevent emergency events from occurring and strategies to minimize their impact when they do occur. There will also be a discussion centered around taking a holistic approach to emergency planning that involves a variety of school stakeholders, including school nurses. School-based health professionals are often the first to notice signs of substance use, mental health concerns, or child exploitation, and can serve as a trusted avenue for seeking help and reporting concerns when issues arise involving student safety, wellness, or security. The presenters will share a new Substance Use webpage that provides several strategies schools and districts can consider to prevent and address youth substance use. By supporting students experiencing substance use issues, schools can help foster a sense of safety and promote positive outcomes.

What is the full scope of school nursing practice? How does one practice to full scope if covering one school or covering multiple? NASN developed the original Framework to articulate the various aspects of school nursing practice. The Scope of School Nursing Practice Tool (SSNPT©) was created in conjunction with NASN to measure school nurses' practice within the original Framework and has since been validated and used throughout the US and internationally. The Framework has been updated in response to changes in the health and education landscape, including attention to the social drivers of health, resulting in the School Nursing Practice FrameworkTM. Once the Framework was updated, we reviewed the SSNPT to determine alignment utilizing a national representative expert panel of practicing school nurses, school nurse leaders, and school nurse researchers. To further understand the connection between the Framework, the SSNPT and full scope, we conducted interviews with the experts to discuss the meaning of full scope of school nursing practice. The purpose of this session is to use the results of the realignment study to discuss the full scope of school nursing practice and practical implications to support school nurses to work to full scope, including using the SSNPT as a self-assessment to further the discussion.

This presentation draws on new historical research to examine how school nurses between 1950 and 1979 negotiated competing expectations across nursing and education. It argues that school nurses’ professional identity did not emerge from a single, linear process of professionalization, but from their daily practice—especially in moments of institutional ambiguity. Through case studies at the national, state, and local level, the talk shows how nurses defined their authority by adapting to school settings, filling gaps left by the decline of public health, and building relationships with students, families, and educators.At the national level, school nurses fought to establish the Department of School Nurses within the National Education Association, navigating resistance from both educators and fellow nurses. In Illinois, their state association used certification and legislative advocacy to position school nurses as de facto public health providers. Locally, records from Chicago Public Schools show nurses negotiating role ambiguity, navigating city politics, and building trust across communities—particularly in segregated neighborhoods.Importantly, Black school nurses in Chicago were more vocal than any other group in the archival record, offering rare insight into school segregation—an issue notably absent from the records of national and state nursing organizations. Community groups like the Chicago Urban League further underscore how race shaped the terrain of school health, even when nursing institutions remained silent. The talk also reflects on how union debates, “teacher-nurse” designations, and uneven institutional support continue to resonate today.By examining how school nurses navigated blurred boundaries and professional tensions in the mid-20th century, this session offers historical context for present-day questions about institutional recognition, equity, and the evolving role of school nurses in education and public health.

This presentation highlights how the San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) addresses Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)—such as delayed care, transportation barriers, and poverty—that impact student wellness and learning. Integrating nursing expertise, systems development, and data analysis, SBCUSD has built sustainable processes to improve health outcomes. School nurses applied the NASN Framework by leveraging Community/Public Health through vision screenings, driving Quality Improvement with data analysis, and strengthening Care Coordination to ensure access to exams and eyeglasses. Participants will learn how systematic, data-driven approaches advance health equity and prepare students to be healthy, safe, and ready to learn.

Join us to explore the history of local public health in Missouri and how intentional partnerships between schools and local public health agencies can improve health outcomes for students, families, and communities. Schools and public health agencies are natural partners in tackling the social factors that influence health. By collaborating, schools and health agencies can identify and address barriers that affect students' and families' well-being. To continue to support schools and local public health agencies in building these partnerships, one Missouri school district will share how their “real-life” partnership with their local public health agency developed, how it is functioning, and how it positively impacts school-aged children and families within their communities. They will also share some practical tips to help others create similar collaborations. Information provided in this session will ensure that health and safety-focused grade-level expectations are met.

Anxiety is one of the most commonly diagnosed mental health disorders in children and adolescents and can have a significant impact on academic outcomes, social relationships, and overall well-being. Students with anxiety frequently present to the health office with somatic symptoms and anxious behaviors. Students affected by social determinants of health (SDH)—including poverty, housing instability, food insecurity, limited access to healthcare, and trauma exposure—are at increased risk for worse outcomes. Barriers to care include fewer preventive services, a lack of early identification and diagnosis, and limited access to evidence-based interventions, resulting in worse outcomes. Additionally, children with chronic health conditions, neurodevelopmental and learning disorders, co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses, and those who identify as LGBTQIA+ experience elevated rates of anxiety symptoms.< br>School nurses are uniquely positioned to promote equity and improve access to mental health care. Through early identification, direct support, care coordination, collaboration with the school-based mental health team, and referral initiation, school nurses can positively impact students. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach that uses specific skills to decrease anxiety symptoms, including relaxation techniques, cognitive restructuring, and facing fears. Evidence suggests that school nurses can effectively integrate these skills into their school nursing practice to improve anxiety symptoms and overall functioning.< br>This interactive session will introduce the foundational principles of CBT and how they align with the NASN School Nursing Practice Framework™ and the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) model. Through polls and case studies, the participants will learn about a range of CBT-informed strategies to support students experiencing anxiety. Upon completion of this session, participants will be more knowledgeable and confident in recognizing anxiety symptoms and risk factors, and applying CBT-informed interventions in clinical practice.

The career shift from a direct-service elementary school nurse to a regional School Health Specialist at an Education Service Center (ESC) represents a significant and often challenging professional evolution. This session chronicles one nurse’s journey within the Texas public school system, highlighting the profound transition from a campus-based clinical advocate to a systems-level consultant serving numerous districts and nurses.The core of this evolution lies in bridging critical knowledge gaps. The presenter will analyze the struggle to move beyond the clinic's walls, detailing the new responsibilities that focus not on individual student care, but on mastering complex areas such as state-level health compliance, interpreting the Texas Education Code, and developing region-wide Quality Improvement initiatives. This shift requires trading clinical proficiency for non-clinical expertise in policy analysis, collaborative training design, and large-scale program implementation.Attendees will gain valuable, actionable insights into how the core competencies of the NASN School Nursing Practice Framework—specifically Leadership and Case Management—are scaled and redefined in these advanced roles. We will discuss proactive strategies for nurses to cultivate the organizational and policy knowledge necessary to pursue system-level leadership, ultimately enabling them to maximize their influence on student health across entire regions.

School nursing plays a critical role in promoting student health, supporting staff, and improving educational outcomes, especially for those with chronic conditions like type 1 diabetes. (Wilt, 2022) In rural and underserved areas, limited access to full-time nurses adds pressure on educators and risks student health. The eCARE School Health program was created to fill this gap by offering real-time access to registered nurses through telehealth. (Young & Damgaard, 2015) This study examined the effects of eCARE training on 49 school staff from participating schools and on school attendance in North Dakota and South Dakota.Using a pre- and post-test method after eCARE training, school staff reported significant improvements in their diabetes management knowledge (82% to 94%, respectively, p < 0.05), a 70% improvement in diabetes management skills (p < 0.05), and a 27% increase in self-efficacy in managing student health needs related to diabetes (p < 0.05). These improvements lasted throughout the school year, enhancing staff readiness and lowering stress associated with health-related responsibilities.At the same time, we tracked school attendance trends from 2021 to 2024. Schools involved in the eCARE School Health program saw a modest 1.5% increase in attendance after the implementation of the program. Although this increase was marginally significant (p < 0.08), it is important to note given the wider declines and indicate the program’s potential to reduce absenteeism by offering timely health support and minimizing students' need to leave school due to illness.These results demonstrate the Quality Improvement scope in the School Nursing Practice Framework, highlighting the importance of virtual school nursing in improving staff preparedness and supporting student health, especially in underserved rural communities. As schools face ongoing budget limits and staffing shortages, scalable solutions like eCARE provide a promising way to close gaps in school health services.