KSNO Announcements

Registration is now open for The 36th Annual Statewide Summer Conference for Kansas School Nurses!

The conference will be held July 22-24, 2025.

New Nurse Orientation: July 21-22

General Session: July 22-24

Hyatt Regency Wichita

Wichita, KS

Immunize Kansas Coalition (ICK) has created a dedicated resource page about measles, which includes information about the disease, symptoms, pictures of the rash, how it is spread, and how to protect against it. There are infographics that can be shared to educate others. 

KDHE also has a measles resource page with FAQs and  information for individuals and health care providers. 

You can stay up to date about health alerts on KDHE's Civic Alert Page.

New Body Venture Exhibit – Apply Now for SY 2025-26

Body Venture is a traveling health education exhibit for K-5 students operated by Child Nutrition & Wellness, Kansas State Department of Education.  It is a great opportunity for students to learn about the importance of making healthy food choices and being physically active.  Body Venture travels in its own truck and sets up in the school gym or multi-purpose room. Body Venture is an enclosed walk-through exhibit representing the human body.  At each of Body Venture's eleven learning stations, a volunteer presenter engages the students in an experiential and educational activity focused on healthy choices helping students learn to Eat Smart. Play Hard.

The tour begins in the Body Venture lunchroom when students, in groups of eight to ten, receive a food tag designating them as a “local Kansas food” such as a carrot, lean beef or piece of cheese.  The second stop is the brain where students learn about brain function.   The "foods" step into the exhibit's larger-than-life mouth, are "swallowed" through the esophagus tunnel and move into the stomach.  From the stomach, the students travel through the small intestine where they become nutrients and are absorbed into the blood.  The nutrients then travel through the heart, lungs, bones, muscles, and skin stations.  Students leave the body through a cut in the skin and proceed to the Pathway to Life, which recaps key health concepts from each of the ten previous stations.  It takes each group of students about an hour to complete the Body Venture experience. 

The Request to Schedule Body Venture form for SY 2025-26 is now available at https://cnw.ksde.gov, SNP, SNP What’s New. The deadline to apply is May 31^st, 2025.

Attention Kansas School Nurses:

This free online program will help families learn skills for a healthy lifestyle – including mindful eating habits, fun ways to stay active and tips for weight management.

Those participating will receive 2 Garmin fitness trackers, a bluetooth smart scale, $75 for each data collection visit, and more! See below for information fliers and social media posts to spread the word. 

Digital Flyer

Print Flyer

Social Media Post

Many of you have received information about Neffy, the newly-approved inhaled epinephrine that is launching a free program for schools. Unfortunately, Kansas schools cannot participate in this program due to statutory language that requires stock epinephrine to be an auto injector. See KSA 72-6283. KSNO is working to bring this issue to the Kansas Legislature so the law may be updated to include inhaled as well as injected epinephrine. If there is interest in bringing this issue to committee, we will post additional information here on KSNO.org, along with how you can help get the bill supported. We don't know if it will happen this legislative session or be tabled till next year. 

KSNO recognizes outstanding school nurses, school nurse administrators, school administrators, and other individuals or organizations who support school nursing annually at the Summer Conference for Kansas School Nurses held in July. The deadline for nominations is March 31. 

Please click on the name of the award to learn more about the award, eligibility for nomination, and the nomination application. 

School Nurse of the Year

School Nurse Emerging Leader 

School Nurse Administrator of the Year

School Administrator of the Year

Recognition Award

The awards committee looks forward to reviewing many outstanding applicants this year!

Join KSDE for the "Wellness Wednesdays" webinar series in February.  A one-hour Zoom session will be offered each Wednesday morning in February with topics aimed at assisting Kansas school wellness committees in implementing wellness policies and creating healthier school environments. This year's theme is Heart Health.  Sessions will be from 9:30 to 10:30 am.  Stay tuned for more details!

 Please share this information with those in your district involved in your district wellness plans. 

The planning committee of the 2025 Annual Statewide Summer Conference for Kansas School Nurses is accepting proposals for presentations at next summer's conference in Wichita. 

Do you have a topic to share? Do you know someone who would be a great speaker? Click on the link for more information and to submit your idea.

2025 Annual Statewide Summer Conference for Kansas School Nurses

• New Nurse Orientation July 21-22, 2025
• General Conference July 22-24, 2025

Wichita, KS

More information to come!

Dear Kansas School Nurses, 

I am aware that some of you have reached out to the Kansas Board of Nursing for guidance regarding your practice considering a bill that was passed and went into effect July 1, 2024. Like the Kansas Board of Nursing, Kansas School Nurses Organization cannot provide legal advice. However, we can recommend what you can do to comply with this law. 

It is recommended that you present this information to the administration of your school district or agency and ask for the assistance of legal counsel to make sure that your current consents will qualify to protect in all areas of concern. Written consent is ideal and when you are unsure, I would recommend that you contact parents and document the conversation either verbatim or as close to verbatim as possible the nature of the concern, the recommendation and the verbal consent to any treatment, testing or medications that are provided during a specific visit including date and time.

This is only a portion of the bill which has created concern of parental consent in schools. Legal counsel will be able to locate and review the bill from this information. See bill as attached URL. 

Sincerely,

Angela Anderson RN

President, Kansas School Nurses Organization

In partnership with the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE), the Department for Children and Families (DCF) identified more than 117,300 Kansas school-aged children who were eligible to receive benefits to offset the cost of groceries during the summer break. The families of these children were automatically issued benefits in July. Families who didn’t receive Summer EBT benefits but believe they have an eligible child may apply through the DCF online self-service portal at https://www.dcfapp.kees.ks.gov/apspssp/sspNonMed.portal. The 2024 Summer EBT application deadline has been extended to Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 5 p.m. Additional information and fact sheets with the extended deadline can be found online at https://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/ees/Pages/Food/SummerEBT.aspx. Please direct any questions regarding Summer EBT applications or application status to DCF Customer Service at 1-888-369-4777, select either English or Spanish, then select Option 5 for Summer EBT.

Hello if you are a rural School Nurse, I hope you will take the time to complete this short survey. Please review the letter and click on the hyperlink: 

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Let's celebrate all school nurses with this National School Nurse Day Proclamation signed by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly! National School Nurse Day is Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Thank you Kansas School Nurses!!