Parents, nurses urge Anchorage School Board to keep a full‑time nurse in every school
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Summary
Dozens of nurses, parents and teachers told the Anchorage School Board that a proposed regional nursing model would create gaps in urgent care, increase emergency calls and legal exposure, and risk driving families of medically complex students out of the district.
At a packed Anchorage School Board public hearing, school nurses, parents and teachers urged the board to abandon a proposed regional nursing model and preserve a full‑time nurse in every school.
"School nursing is not just about scheduled medications and treatments," said Megan Charles, a parent and a nationally board‑certified school nurse, arguing that on‑site nurses perform high‑level clinical assessments that cannot be delegated to office staff. Multiple nurses cited on‑campus interventions—ranging from identifying anaphylaxis to performing CPR—that they said saved students' lives.
Speakers representing the Alaska School Nurse Association and dozens of district nurses warned that shifting to a regional or on‑call nursing model would mean days without an on‑site nurse and longer response times in emergencies. "A regional on‑call nursing model assumes emergencies can wait," said Joanie Lizon, a nationally certified school nurse, who referenced federal protections under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act when discussing legal and civil‑rights risk.
Nurses and parents framed the change as both a safety and equity issue. Brock Sides, whose daughter has type‑1 diabetes, said minutes of delay in a diabetic emergency can lead to seizures, hospitalization or worse, and called the proposal "reckless." Several testifiers said the regional model would increase reliance on untrained front‑office staff for clinical decisions and would likely drive up ambulance calls and litigation costs.
District staffing and implementation details were a recurring theme: witnesses repeatedly asked whether leadership had consulted local emergency services about the model, what clinical duties would be shifted, and how the district would guarantee continuity of care for medically complex students. Jennifer Caudle, who identified herself as president of the Alaska School Nurse Association, said research and local experience show regional nursing models have failed in other districts and argued the district could not safely implement the change by fall 2026 without a clear plan.
Board members did not offer a substantive rebuttal during public testimony. The hearing continued across an evening of community comments; the board voted procedurally to extend the meeting to midnight to hear more speakers.
The next formal step is the board's budget vote on the rightsizing plan, currently scheduled for the board agenda next week. Testimony concluded with nurses and families urging the board to adopt policy that preserves one nurse per school to protect student health and prevent potential legal exposure.