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

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.

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.”

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“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.