SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today honored California's nearly 3,000 school nurses on National School Nurse Day.

"School nurses play a vital role in keeping students safe and healthy," O'Connell said. "School nurses often provide the only source of health care for disadvantaged children. Sadly, California has the lowest ratio of school nurses in the country, and in this current state budget crisis, many more school nurses are getting layoff notices. As we head into summer budget negotiations, I urge the Governor and the Legislature to recognize the critical role that school nurses play in our public education system and to pass a budget that protects students and schools."

As of 2005-06, the latest data available, there were about 2,844 nurses who served the state's 6.3 million public school students. That's a ratio of 2,227 students to every one school nurse. School nurses are responsible for addressing the health, development, and disease control of all students. They must also meet the needs of nearly 680,000 children with multiple and severe disabilities currently enrolled in the state's public schools.

"With the budget crisis leading schools to reduce staffing levels of nurses as well as teachers, I am gravely concerned about the safety of students in any potential health care crisis," added O'Connell. "In the past year, we have asked nurses to take on the added responsibility of watching out for the deadly MRSA infection. School nurses will also be asked to play a critical role in the anticipated event of pandemic influenza. On National School Nurse Day, I encourage students, teachers, administrators, parents and public officials to recognize the contributions and responsibilities of school nurses and to salute them for their service."