Dear Editor:
When Does Cost Outweigh a Child’s Safety?
Imagine your child is at school and you receive a phone call no parent ever wants to get:
“Mom, come now. We had to call 911.”
For my family, that is not a hypothetical situation.
My 8-year-old son attends school in Parsippany and has a medical condition that causes episodes of severe hypoglycemia, or dangerously low blood sugar. These episodes can occur quickly and can become life-threatening if not recognized and treated immediately.
Several months ago, I received that call. My son’s blood glucose had dropped to 27. Emergency services were called, and he ultimately required hospitalization.
Fortunately, his private duty nurse recognized the situation quickly and intervened before paramedics arrived.
For the past two years, this nurse has been by my son’s side every school day. Because my son has limited verbal communication, he cannot reliably tell adults when he feels sick or when his blood sugar is dropping. Instead, those who know him best learn to recognize subtle changes in his behavior, appearance, and activity level.
That familiarity matters.
My son’s medical needs are so complex that he receives care from specialists at both Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Boston Children’s Hospital. Even highly trained medical professionals require time to learn his unique presentation, warning signs, and care needs. Continuity of care is not a convenience; it is a critical component of keeping him safe.
My son is more than a diagnosis. He is a happy, social child who loves school. While academics can be challenging for him, he thrives on relationships. He loves his classmates, teachers, aides, and school community. School is where he belongs.
Recently, I learned that changes are being made to the nursing support that allows him to attend school safely. The nurse who has cared for him daily for the past two years is being replaced just days before summer programming begins in the name of budget cuts.
As a parent, that raises an important question:
How do we balance budget considerations with the needs and safety of medically fragile students?
No parent expects unlimited resources. School districts face difficult financial decisions every year. But when those decisions affect children who depend on specialized support to safely access their education, parents deserve transparency and a meaningful voice in the process.
This is not just about one nurse or one child. It is about how our community supports students with significant medical needs and whether continuity of care is valued when a child’s life depends on it.
Every child deserves the opportunity to attend school safely, learn alongside their peers, and be included in their community.
My son deserves the same thing every parent wants for their child: the opportunity to attend school safely.
He should not have to fight for that opportunity because of his medical condition.
And parents should never be forced to wonder whether budget decisions are being prioritized over the safety of their children.
Regardless of a child’s disability, diagnosis, or support needs, when a life-threatening safety issue is involved, those protections should not be compromised because they are expensive.
Every child deserves the opportunity to attend school safely, and every parent deserves the peace of mind of knowing that their child’s safety comes before a budget line item.
Editor’s note: This article does not identify the family at the center of this letter by name in order to protect the privacy of their child.
