Parent urges Gilbert Unified to honor her son’s DNR, asks for disability-awareness training

Susie Jackson used her allotted public-comment time to tell the Gilbert Unified District governing board that district staff had refused nursing and Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) directives for her son while honoring similar instructions for another student. "This is a proven lie," Jackson said after describing records she obtained via a FOIA request that, she said, show prior staff communications honoring a different student's DNR.

Jackson told the board she had requested one-to-one nursing so her son could return to school and said a recent Individualized Education Program meeting included district legal counsel, which she called an unnecessary and intimidating presence. She said a separate child in the district received one-to-one nursing last year without a meeting or attorney present.

Jackson asked the board to hold an open forum or discussion about policies governing DNRs and medical decisions in schools, to require mandatory disability-awareness and sensitivity training for all staff, and to create a district position charged with coordinating social and extracurricular activities for students with disabilities.

Board members listened and offered no direct response during the public-comment period; the board proceeded to its next agenda item after thanking Jackson. The district did not make any formal commitment or take action on Jackson’s requests during the meeting.

What Jackson said is a charge of inconsistent treatment and of a problematic use of legal counsel at an IEP meeting. The board did not respond with a denial or confirmation in the meeting transcript; any administrative follow-up, review of the FOIA materials she cited, or substantive policy changes would require future board action or staff reporting.