life and death
How should a school handle a “do not resuscitate” (DNR) directive for one of its students in poor health? The Chicago Tribune reports that after a two-year discussion, the Special Education District of Lake County, Ill., has agreed to honor such directives, and district officials now find themselves in the unusual position of having planned the steps its staff will, or won’t, take to permit a child to die on school grounds:
Although some school districts follow parents’ wishes about DNRs, many others have not yet focused on how they will handle the issue. It’s a topic school officials across the country are beginning to wrestle with, experts say.
For instance, the article notes that in Chicago Public Schools, the policy is to ignore DNR orders and do everything possible to save a child’s life.
What do you think? Should schools honor parents requests and not resuscitate an ailing student? Or should schools have a policy of taking all possible steps to keep a student alive, despite parents’ medical directives?
Leave a comment.
December 15th, 2007 @ 7:26 pm
Schools have to be responsible to all their students and the community at large. Abiding by such an order and declining to intervene in a disabled student’s life-threatening situation would send the wrong message to students and could leave them unnecessarily traumatized.
December 15th, 2007 @ 7:28 pm
Schools should do whatever they can to respect the wishes of parents or guardians regarding do not resuscitate orders. People do no forfeit their parental rights when they send their children to school.
December 18th, 2007 @ 9:35 am
I teach EMS at a Vocational School. As an EMS provider, you are required to follow the DNR as long as the proper paper work is in order. If students question the actions of the staff, take that opportunity to educate the students. We as educators tend to be over-protective and don’t want to believe that young people could possibly understand such an adult matter. You would be surprised how mature students react if you treat them like adults. In my class we have to discuss death. By allowing the students to ask questions and communicate, it provides them with knowledge and that alleviates a lot of the fear and misconceptions. This goes for adults, also. Obeying a DNR is stressful, especially if you are trained to help people, but if you educate yourself it will put things into perspective.