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School Refuses To Treat Student Suffering Asthma Attack Over Lack of Paperwork — Justified?

Sep. 19, 2012 2:55pm Liz Klimas

Parents of an 8-year-old student from Texas are claiming school officials did not give their son medical attention when he was suffering from an asthma attack. The reason? The teacher didn’t have the necessary paperwork authorized by his doctor and parents.

Fort Worth 8 Year Old Goes Untreated for Asthma Attack Because School Didnt Have Required Paperwork

Mark Salas, 8, is autistic and may not speak up if he needs treatment for asthma. When suffering a recent attack, the school could not administer treatment without a parent's permission slip. (Image: CBS screenshot)

CBS 11 reports the boy’s father Ivan Toro saying his son attending Crowley ISD in Fort Worth has been in and out of the hospital since the incident more than a week ago, which he attributes to the lack of treatment his son received at school. Toro also said his son is in a special needs classroom as he has autism and doesn’t speak. For this reason, Toro is afraid other students will not receive adequate attention in emergencies either:

“I just want to make sure it doesn’t happen,” said Ivan Toro. “Because there are special kids in that classroom, and a lot of them are non-verbal.”

[...]

“You have to initiate that treatment right away because if you don’t, he can relapse so quick,” Toro said.

Toro was told by the school that the teacher, who correctly followed procedure, was unauthorized to initiate treatment without the necessary paperwork. He was given the paperwork to complete when he provided the medication before his son started school that day. Toro told CBS he didn’t realize his son wouldn’t be cared for otherwise. He and the boy’s mother were contacted two hours later and told the school to call 911 when the teacher said she couldn’t administer treatment. The boy was taken to the hospital at that point.

Watch the report:

CBS received this statement from the school regarding its medication policy:

Parents/guardians are required to sign a “Medication Administration Authorization Form” … The authorization form for this student was not on file at the school at the time of this incident, so the school nurse did not have authority to administer the prescription.

Our policy states: Prescription medication shall not be given to students without a specific written request SIGNED by at least one parent or legal guardian. These requests shall be made on the “Medication Administration Authorization Form.

With this incident, CBS reports that the school district is taking action to make sure necessary paperwork for students who may require medical attention is up-to-date and on file.

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Comments (98)

grayling646
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 4:09pm
It’s OK with me that the parent is pointing out that the school dropped the ball for not emphasing that the paperwork needed to be filled out and filed immediately. However, he needs to emphasize that it’s the parents responsibility to know and do the same. It appears to me that a part of his effort is to cover or justify his own guilt.

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- DarkJello
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 4:46pm
  Kid is young, has autism, and the school waited TWO hours to call the parents?!? They then said, call 911. The school did not know about 911? They have never dealt with asthma attacks before??? Is some super villain draining common sense from people across the globe? I demand answers!
  
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- NHwinter
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 5:18pm
  Common sense has left most Americans. That’s what Progressives have taken from people.
  
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- zorro
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 5:20pm
  Yet another reason for parents to dump public school and send their kids to private school where you won’t have to put up with this kind of PC bullcrap.
  
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- Leadthemtothelight
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 5:45pm
  Common sense seems to be in short supply in our public school system. Remember the kid with the sunburn?
  
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- DeniseR55
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 5:55pm
  BUT THEY CAN TAKE THEM FOR AN ABORTION>>>>> I am so sick of this backwards country, and I would leave if I could find a place that wasn’t backward to go too.
  
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- Jenny Lind
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 6:12pm
  One, if this kid was in the school system, they knew he had asthma. No kid gets in school without shots, physical and illnesses known. Paperwork is endless. Two, asthma kills. Thinking it is not a big deal is incredibly stupid, and the school has to know that, or they should not be teaching, or nurses in the schools. I will repeat-IT IS DEADLY. Two hours and I would have a lawsuit that would put that schooldistrict in debt forever. This is unforgivable. No parent signature equals 911, no excuses no BS. It is called life threatening emergency and does not require a parent’s permission.
  
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- grayling646
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 6:23pm
  You’re right, Dark, Their actions were inexcusable but I wasn’t giving my opinion about any actions (or lack of). I was talking about responsibility. Responsibility precedes action. If both parties had fulfilled their individual responsibilities we wouldn’t be discussing their actions. This would never have happened and therefore wouldn’t be a story.
  
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- Lonescrapper
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 6:47pm
  The child couldn’t be in school at all without an emergency release form. I guarantee you they already had emergency release, and even if they didn’t, you are not required to have one to call 911. Even the janitor could have called 911.
  
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- tzion
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 9:41pm
  Obviously school officials, who aren’t trained in medicine, can’t be expected to provide a treatment without proper consent or approval. I would have hoped they would have at least called 911 as soon as there was a problem and inform the parents simultaneously to be on the safe side. Treating the child without proper consent could potentially make a bad situation worse if the treatment is performed incorrectly or the wrong treatment is given. Let the professionals do their job.
  
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- checkbeck
  Posted on September 20, 2012 at 7:26am
  I agree with you, I work for a school and the same rules apply. A child in his condition would be excluded until he does have the proper paperwork on file. This is to prevent liability on the part of the school, brought on by a “lawsuit society”. Teachers are not doctors or lawyers nor should they have to take on the role of the parents. It is the parent’s responsibility knowing his child’s condition not to make sure the school is properly prepared to handle his situation. This is another example of parents like you said trying to ease the own guilt.
  
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- poorrichard09
  Posted on September 20, 2012 at 8:07am
  It’s bad enough they didn’t treat a sick child, but since he’s black it must be a “hate crime” too!
  I’m sure will be hearing from Jesse and Al on this, and you know if 0bama had a son…..
  
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- Ruthie3
  Posted on September 20, 2012 at 10:34am
  I don’t want anyone except a nurse t/b giving my child medicine that I have authorized PERIOD. If my child has a autism/asthma problem, I’m gonna be sure and sign any authorizing forms and returning them to the school. I’d probably walk them to the nurse and make sure she has them. Even make sure she signs that she’s received them. To do otherwise when you have a spec. needs child is just as criminal as a school would be if they withheld medication after an authorization to administer. You don’t want untrained teachers handing out meds! Only licensed nurses should do that. If there’s a reaction to the meds you’d want a nurse that could identify that reaction. What if the dosage is based on a child’s weight, and it needs t/b calculated at the time of administering? You have NO idea how meds effect a young person’s body. You need trained people, people!
  
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- rx4nv
  Posted on September 20, 2012 at 1:53pm
  I hate to burst everyone’s bubble, but being a school nurse or teacher, does not give them license to prescribe medications based on their hope to help someone. In fact every state has laws as to who can prescribe medicine. School nurses and any nurse are licensed to give medications within their scope of practice. However, their scope of practice dictates that they give medications based on the doctors prescription. If they do not have a written plan in the students chart that instructs a nurse what to give, how much and when, they are not licensed to do it. I am a health care provider and fill out a zillion forms each school year for the use of tylenol, motrin, albuterol, epi-pen… at school. Would I like to stop this insane amount of paperwork? Yes! But it is to keep these kids safe as well as keep the schools from constantly being sued because someone gave something that should not have been given. The parents knew the child had asthma, the parents should have discussed this with the school and knew what needed to be done. Don’t fault the school. Is it unfortunate, Yes! Could it have been avoided? Yes! Would the nurse or teacher have lost their job if they had given the medicine? Yes! You can’t let your feelings for this child (yes, it is unfortunate) cause you to overlook the policies and procedures that have been in place for decades in order to protect everyone.
  
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Sirfoldallot
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:54pm
PC & hire a liar @ work again.

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neiman1
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:53pm
Why would they wait 2 hours to call 911?

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BloodSweatandTears
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:52pm
No one knew AHEAD OF TIME that this kid had asthma? And might require attention, therefore the paper work should have BEEN intact? And these people call themselves educators? Up-side-down-world….

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- Exrepublisheep
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 6:37pm
  That’s the parents responsibility.
  
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- Exiled
  Posted on September 20, 2012 at 12:51am
  In a “special” class for autistic students in a public school? My experience tells me that the “teachers” in the classroom weren’t even licensed teachers.
  
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watashbuddyfriend
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:39pm
Let me see, and guess, the parents are at fault, right?

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- Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:48pm
  Hey, I’m no lawyer and can’t answer that but, if you had a child that couldn’t talk and had asthma would you just drop them off at a government building with a bunch of union employees? How can you say that the parents aren’t at least partially liable?
  
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- JRook
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:55pm
  Of course they are at fault. At no point did the parents indicate they had not received the form. If they cared half as much about their child as the report implies then they would insure all necessary paperwork was filled out, signed and provided. Let’s keep in mind some of the information contained on these types of forms include medications being taken, allergies, physician, emergency contacts, etc. Trust me the outcry would be louder and more supported here if the teacher did something they were not authorized to do.
  
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13th Imam
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:36pm
My wife is a spec ed teacher in middle school. While it’s tough for the student, the LAWYERS have made it impossible for the teacher, to be put in the position of being a medical provider and therefore liable. We shouldn’t possibly lose our house and savings because a parent doesn’t do their job. I blame the Trial Lawyers, like John Edwards, who have created this dilemma.

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- 13th Imam
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:47pm
  Addendum; In Connecticut I have seen what paperwork (My wife) teachers go thru for students that require meds, and this should have been taken care of by the school admin, the kids doctor, and the teacher and the parent. If the parent doesn’t notify the school of a change in meds, it is the parents fault
  
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COFemale
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:34pm
So let me get this straight, you can’t be sued under the good Samaritan law and administering aid, but you can be sued for administering medical aid to a student for not having the proper paperwork? Both should qualify under the law.

Time to hire teachers with common sense and get these bureaucratic nimrods out of the DOE and/or shut it down completely.

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- dmforman
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:52pm
  As a former teacher, there is no way that I would have given the child medication without permission. My husband and I have worked too hard for our home and things. I would not put myself in the position of loosing everything.
  
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- Exiled
  Posted on September 20, 2012 at 12:52am
  I agree. As a former teacher, not so much as a cough drop. For all I know, the kid has an allergy of some sort. On the other hand, I wouldn’t hesitate to call 911 first, and the administrators second.
  
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The American
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:32pm
If the child is autistic and can’t speak, just what the hell is he doing in a school?

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- grayling646
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:50pm
  Gee I don’t know. Maybe the parents have to work in order to clothe, feed and shelter the family. Oh, and pay for the childs medical treatment and drugs. But that’s just a guess.
  
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- Exiled
  Posted on September 20, 2012 at 1:46am
  Contrary to popular myth, it doesn’t take both parents working.
  
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- Ruthie3
  Posted on September 20, 2012 at 10:36am
  Mainstreaming children with special needs is not always the best decision for the child.
  
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Pewah
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:30pm
Yes, he’s in that school because it costs the state a WHOLE lot less to have a poorly paid teacher look after him than a better paid health care worker(s)…and they stack ‘em up like cord wood in the special ed classrooms.

Also, as the husband of a very hard working special education teacher, I would NEVER expect my wife to give a child a medication without the supporting paperwork. Unfortunately, these teachers who take on SO MUCH everyday caring for these fragile kids are not covered with the insurance they would need should anything go wrong. They’re actually expected to purchase a private policy so that they can even touch the sped kids.

To RPP: The teacher who manages your son’s sped classroom likely works MANY more hours than the other teachers at her/his school. They are also likely to be trained or “high qualified” educators and your disdain for them as “organ donors” tells me that your probably another one of those parents who does very little for their own child, but expects the world of those who teach and care for him.

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COFemale
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:29pm
First of all if a teacher can’t discern an emergency situation in a few minutes and dial 911, then she does not have the where with all to teach. What the hell has happened to common sense. Maybe you don’t administer the services, but dang woman call 911.

What if the child had a sudden peanut allergy attack, would she let the child die because the necessary paperwork wasn’t filled out? Sorry you can’t fix stupid. Teacher must go. I would take my chances and do the right thing, either way you could be held accountable, I would err on the side of common sense.

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- 13th Imam
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:59pm
  Then that rule should apply to any tom, dick or harry that comes across an emergency situation.
  
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- amerbur
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 4:09pm
  Worry about the child’s life, worry about paper work later. Is the court going to be harder on you for letting him die or for trying to help? If you are too much of a coward, call 911 while you watch him die or get brain damage from lack of oxygen.
  
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- shotzie52
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 7:31pm
  many school districts have made it legal for anyone to give a child an epi pen in an anaphylactic situation , 911 is appropriate for an asthma attack if there is no treatment available in the school as was the case here. Legally you cannot administer a medication without parental and in some states, physician order. Schools provide this paperwork the beginning of every school year, it is the parents who refuse to return it
  
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Vettegirl
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:28pm
Again, no common sense! They’d just let him die? Do these people hear themselves when they speak? They all sound rediculous! How absurd. “Sorry Mr. So-in-so, your son has died due to our lack of common sense. We chose to do nothing.”

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Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:24pm
You can be sued for giving medical treatment.Not for letting the victim die from lack of medical treatment.
Makes Liberal Logic Sense to me.

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- Jeff Bassett
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:48pm
  A debate that goes back thousands of years. A great mentor, Jesus, taught that you put the value of life first before the written / oral law. Makes the most sense to me. Mark 3:4, might want to read that chapter and think about it.
  
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NewLife56
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:21pm
If the kid needed an abortion every person ifn the school would have done it, no questiones asked

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- Smokey_Bojangles
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:29pm
  The Problem was not abortion.He just did not have any free condoms and didn’t have his Turkey Sandwich Confiscated.
  
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HotFixIt
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:21pm
One big problem in this story is that it states “the school NURSE”.. If this is a licensed nurse she is perfectly capable of reading the instructions on the appropriately labeled medication and using it properly. If she has any question she could easily call the physician listed on the label and receive a verbal order and follow the order and treat the child. She is negligent under her license!

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- obfuscatenot
  Posted on September 20, 2012 at 6:12am
  AMEN. My nurse sister is frequently and foremost doing her job, according to her oath. She is bound to stop at car accidents and assess the medical situation when arriving before emergency vehicles. Personal responsibility IS the issue here. The ball was dropped by all-parents, teacher, admin., especially the nurse. Why are people so afraid to do the right thing? After all the kids the only one who’s suffering now, and he can’t vote. Ugh. Wow, aren’t you glad the “frightened’ set is a relatively new thing? King George would have approved. We are a nation of cowards.
  
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PhineasJWhoopee
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:19pm
This is what obamacare will be like. People dying in the waiting room because they have no proof
they are an illegal, minority or Democrat

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repairsea
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:17pm
Common sense is not common.

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grimmster
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:15pm
So, they didnt have all of the “paper work” to treat the kid.May i ask, do these so called teachers have brains at all, or even a gnats amout of common sense,could they not have called………..wait for it………..911?! F-n idiots………

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Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:14pm
Why is this kid in public school to begin with?

If that were my kid I’d have him somewhere that could deal with special needs or I’d home school. Who puts this kid in public schools? And yes, I know technically why he’s there…progressive funding issues, mandates, no child left behind, yadda yadda yadda.

To the poster below…vouchers man.

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- COFemale
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:23pm
  Who the hell do you think you are? It is none of your business where the kid goes to school. Unless you are prepared to pay for the parents private schooling STFU.
  
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- Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:44pm
  @Cofemale,
  
  Am I not paying for the child’s public schooling? If the parents sue the school would I not be paying for the outcome of the lawsuit? I’m supposed to just STFU and write a check huh? How about YOU STFU? How’s that sound?
  
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- Exiled
  Posted on September 20, 2012 at 1:50am
  As a taxpayer funded institution, it IS my responsibility to comment on how the money is spent. I have been in school districts were the “normal” students receive almost none of the resources, while the “special ed” students have every need they have met. While I appreciate the fact that “special” kids have a right to some of the resources, the unequal distribution of my tax dollars was appalling.
  
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:12pm
“He and the boy‘s mother were contacted two hours later and told the school to call 911 when the teacher said she couldn’t administer treatment. The boy was taken to the hospital at that point.”
2 HOURS after the fact? What the….
Even if they cannot treat without the proper paperwork, they can damned well contact emergency services like anybody else would. PC to the point of being a total dumbass!

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2GodBeTheGlory
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:10pm
It appears that the school was negligent in providing emergency medical care for the child in their custody. Whatever the cause of an attack of this nature, the school should have provided necessary medical treatment or if unable, to obtain emergency medical treatment. This is what is called “child neglect / child endangerment”. If a child never had asthma, would they wait two hours before calling the parents to see what to do? The child’s life hangs in the balance in the decisions made by these “professional educators”.

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Exrepublisheep
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:07pm
Parents of a child are outraged that a teacher, with no medical degree, administered a prescription drug to their child even though the parents had not signed the Medication Administration Authorization Form. Lawyer to make millions. Details at 11:00.

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- shotzie52
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 7:27pm
  exactly
  
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progressiveslayer
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:07pm
Another reason why central planning must end and never make a comeback.End the DOE and a lot of problems will solve themselves.

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rpp
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:06pm
I understand and agree that consent from the parents should be required. As the father of an autistic son who has other health problems, I believe I can directly understand the parents position here.

The problem is not that the school would administer medication, it is that they DID NOT CALL emergency services. Paramedics and doctors have the authority to administer certain drugs under certain conditions and they generally know their limits. Most teachers, on the other, are qualified only to be organ donors.

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hi
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:03pm
The parents are idiots.The nurse is an idiot. The nurse valued her degree over the boy’s life.

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- shotzie52
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 7:25pm
  the parents would have sued the nurse and she would have lost her license. 911 should have been called immediately. Parents are to make sure meds needed by their children are properly labeled and a signed release form by Physician and parent is required in NY state, otherwise it is called prescribing without a license
  
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cubber
Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:00pm
Voucher me. Please.

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- CatB
  Posted on September 19, 2012 at 3:06pm
  Amen ..
  
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