Nurse's Corner
NJ State Mandates
Summary of Selected School Health Mandates and Resources
ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE MENINGITIS FACT SHEET N.J.S.A. 18A:40-21.2 requires that school districts annually distribute the educational fact sheet on meningitis to parents or guardians of students entering sixth grade. The fact sheet is also available to private schools, although they are encouraged, but not required, to distribute the fact sheet. The fact sheet can be accessed and downloaded at meningococcal_faq.pdf (nj.gov).
ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION OF FACT SHEET ON HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS (HPV) N.J.S.A. 18A:40-42 requires public schools to annually distribute a fact sheet about vaccination against HPV to parents or guardians of students in grade seven. Private schools are encouraged, but not required, to distribute the fact sheet. The fact sheet is available at HPV Vaccine FAQ--1.2012.pub (nj.gov).
ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION OF FACT SHEET ON SPORTS-RELATED CONCUSSIONS AND CONCUSSION MODEL POLICY GUIDANCE N.J.S.A. 18A:40-41.3 requires each school district, charter school, renaissance school project, and nonpublic school that participates in interscholastic athletics to adopt by September 1, 2011, a policy concerning the prevention and treatment of sports-related concussions and other head injuries among student athletes. Information on the student athlete concussion policy and guidance is available at Microsoft Word - Sports-Related Concussion MP (njsiaa.org).
ANNUAL INSERVICE ABOUT ASTHMA N.J.S.A. 18A:40-12.9 requires annual asthma education opportunities for teaching staff. The Pediatric/Adult Asthma Coalition of New Jersey provides support to schools regarding asthma requirements. Additional information can be found at Asthma (nj.gov).
ANNUAL INSERVICE ABOUT BLOOD-BORNE PATHOGENS Federal Occupational Safety and Health regulations require annual inservice training for school staff. N.J.A.C. 8:61-2 (New Jersey Department of Health regulation) requires public and nonpublic schools and day care facilities to establish policies and procedures for handling blood and bodily fluids, and policies and procedures for post-exposure management. Schools and day care facilities are required to provide training and appropriate supplies for all school personnel.
EPINEPHRINE TRAINING PROTOCOLS N.J.S.A. 18A:40-12.6 requires that , in consultation with the board of education, school nurses designate and train school employees who volunteer to administer epinephrine when the school nurse is not physically present at the scene. Please note that licensed athletic trainers who volunteer are not in violation of the Athletic Training Licensure Act. Training Protocols for the Emergency Administration of Epinephrine, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:40-12.3–12.6, are available at http://www.state.nj.us/education/students/safety/health/services/epi.pdf.
IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS FOR SCHOOL-AGE YOUTH School districts are required to annually review the immunization records of all students, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:16-2.2(a), and it is the responsibility of the certified school nurse to review all immunization records under N.J.A.C. 6A:16-2.3(b)3v. The NJDOE provided additional information to schools regarding enrollment considerations for homeless and immigrant students on August 23, 2016.
JANET’S LAW N.J.S.A. 18A:40-41a through 41c requires public and nonpublic schools to have automated external defibrillators and to establish emergency action plans for responding to sudden cardiac events.
NJ FAMILYCARE Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:16-2.2(i), school districts are required to make accessible information regarding the NJ FamilyCare Program for students who are knowingly without medical coverage. For more information regarding the NJ FamilyCare program, please go to www.njfamilycare.org/.
SCHOLASTIC STUDENT-ATHLETE SAFETY ACT The Scholastic Student-Athlete Safety Act (P.L. 2013, c.71) was signed into law to establish measures to ensure the health of student athletes in public and nonpublic schools.
SPORTS-RELATED EYE INJURIES N.J.S.A. 18A: 40-41.9b requires each school district and nonpublic school to annually distribute the educational fact sheet on sportsrelated eye injuries to the parents or guardians of the students.
SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH IN YOUNG ATHLETES PAMPHLET Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:40-41c through d, school districts must distribute the Sudden Cardiac Death In Young Athletes pamphlet to each student-athlete and to the parents or guardians of the student-athlete. The pamphlet can be found at Sudden Cardiac Death in Young Athletes (files.ecatholic.com) and the student athlete and parent or guardian certification and sign-off sheet can be found at SuddenCardiacDeathPamphletSignOffSheet.pdf (files.ecatholic.com).
TUBERCULOSIS (TB) SCREENING AND GUIDANCE Guidance from the New Jersey Department of Health on the annual TB requirements, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:40- 16 through 19, can be found at http://nj.gov/health/tb/tech.shtml, under “Schools” and “Frequently Asked Questions."