Broward Schools Remove On-Campus Nurses, Alarming Parents

School Nurse Reductions in Broward County

• ⚠️ Broward County schools are removing on-campus nurses from a significant number of schools, causing alarm among parents.
• 📢 Many parents report not being directly informed about these changes, discovering the absence of nurses through social media or word-of-mouth.

Parental Concerns for Student Safety

• 👶 Parents of students with severe medical conditions, such as life-threatening food allergies requiring EpiPens, are particularly worried.
• 🩺 The removal of nurses places the responsibility of managing serious medical needs onto untrained school staff, a situation parents find "horrifying."
• 😥 The lack of direct medical support is seen as a critical safety risk, especially in emergencies.

School District's Response and Rationale

• 🏫 A spokesperson confirmed that 49 schools across the district have lost their school nurses this academic year.
• 📊 The district states this is a transition to a new staffing model to "more efficiently allocate resources" and that two trained staff members are available at each school for basic medical aid.
• 💉 Students requiring skilled nursing assistance will still have a nurse assigned, according to the district.
• 🏛️ The district claims this model is similar to the one used prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Community Action and Advocacy

• ✍️ Parents at Harbordale Elementary have initiated an online petition to demand the return of nurses to the affected schools.
• 🌐 The petition is available on the local10.com website for those wishing to show support.