Managing Asthma in Minnesota Schools
The goal of asthma management in school is for the student to be included in all educational activities, live a normal life as possible, and respond to asthma symptoms early to prevent complications from asthma. School nurses advocate for asthma-friendly policies and activities in the school environment and help to coordinate care for these students.
School health office
Not all Minnesota schools have a full-time licensed school nurse (LSN) on staff or in the health office.
MN Statute 121A.21 School Health Services requires:
- Every school board must provide services to promote the health of its pupils.
- The board of a district with 1,000 pupils or more in average daily membership in early childhood family education, preschool disabled, elementary, and secondary programs must comply with the requirements of this paragraph. It may use one or a combination of the following methods:
- Employ personnel, including at least one full-time equivalent licensed school nurse;
- Contract with a public or private health organization or another public agency for personnel during the regular school year, determined appropriate by the board, who are currently licensed under chapter 148 and who are certified public health nurses; or
- Enter into another arrangement approved by the commissioner (of Education).
The health services staffing model and level of services varies among the public-school districts, charter and private schools. You can learn more about health services staffing models on the School Health Services Staffing (MDH) webpage.
It is important that parents ask who is providing health services in their student’s school. The actual person providing services could be a:
- Licensed school nurse
- Registered nurse
- Licensed practical nurse
- Unlicensed assistive personnel
While each of these health services staff support students with asthma, the role and type of support may vary based on nursing licensure or no licensure. MDH Nursing Practice in Schools webpage provides additional information. While each of these health services staff support student’s with asthma, the role and type of support may vary based on nursing licensure or no licensure.
Learn more
- Nursing Practice in Schools Provides information to guide nurses within the specialty practice of school nursing but also to help inform educators, administrators, and others who have limited knowledge about school nursing practices and the implications when practicing nursing in the school setting.
- School Health Services Staffing Provides additional information around staffing structures, types of nurses and staff supporting the School Health Services Team, and common questions about nursing practice in schools.
Working with students
- Every child who has asthma should receive appropriate age level asthma education with frequent assessment and management oversight by LSNs while at school
- Schools should work in partnership with students to plan, set goals and implement their asthma self-management plan.
- Supporting students by giving them the self-management tools they need to participate, also means identifying what their responsibilities are
For example, a student and parents/caregiver should:
- Complete and return all health-related paperwork, questionnaires, medication updates, etc., to school health services staff.
- Follow district policies if they self-carry their medications and check-in with school health services staff at regular, predetermined intervals to evaluate their asthma status.
- Report increasing (or decreasing) symptoms or changes in their asthma to health staff.
- Report changes in peak flow readings to the health staff.
- Understand how their AAP and/or medication care plan are used and when to request assistance.
- Be responsible for carrying and using their asthma medications at the proper time (e.g., pre-medicating before sports activities), self-administering them correctly and not sharing medications with others.
- Learn simple self-management tasks like awareness of their triggers, taking their medications as prescribed, and using their controller and quick-relief inhalers when needed.
Working with families
A child’s asthma can affect the dynamics of the entire family, so it’s important to understand what a family experiences when dealing with a chronic health condition like asthma. Families may not fully understand asthma and how to manage it properly. School health staff can help families by providing asthma education for the individual student and their family.
Health staff have the opportunity to educate families regarding asthma triggers in the home and can help them create a healthy home environment. Since children who have asthma are extremely sensitive to their environment, an environmental assessment should be done in both the home and school environments. An assessment can help identify asthma triggers and identify solutions that minimize exposure to those triggers. Some local public health agencies offer asthma home based services that include a home environmental assessment and individualized asthma self-management education in the child’s home.
See Asthma Home-Based Services section for more information on Minnesota programs currently offering in-home services for asthma.
Learn more
