Some New York City public schools lack a school nurse, despite many children having health issues like diabetes and asthma. The blame can be placed on the doorstep of the Principal, who has total control of the school's budget. Rather than allocate funds for a school nurse, they rather rely on the undependable DOE to supply and pay for a school nurse to save money.
The principals will claim, and rightly so, that the blame lies with the DOE, since they are responsible for providing a school nurse, free of charge to the school. However, when the DOE fails to do so, then the Principal should be using their funds to do so. True, the DOE's imposed school based fair student funding and their refusal to fund the schools at 100% of their fair funding (most schools are receiving only 90%) affects the decision to hire a school nurse with school resources. However, it must be pointed out that the DOE gives principals full discretion on allocating funds. Therefore, lacking a school nurse lies with the Principal.
To me, lacking a school nurse is a health crisis and with the many students who have health issues, principals are practicing educational maleficence and parents should demand their removal since they are not putting their students first..