Bill that would update diabetes management policies in schools heads to Youngkin’s desk

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- One of the over 900 bills passed during the 2025 General Assembly session and now headed to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk aims to clear up diabetes management policies in Virginia's public schools.

If signed into law by Youngkin, Senate Bill 1303 would bring six related Virginia code sections together, creating one comprehensive code section that covers all the bases -- with some amendments. Supporters say doing this would make diabetes management between a student, their parents, health-care providers and schools clearer.  

Amendments include making it so that a parent and physician can create a Diabetes Medical Management Plan (DMMP), authorizing what kind of diabetes care their child gets at school.  

Diabetes management is not something with a one-size-fits-all solution -- and students can find themselves missing class time to deal with their diabetes. A DMMP is based on individualized, specific needs.

Courtesy of FOLLOWT1Ds and Kerry Murphy.

"We want our children to attend school and, with Type 1 Diabetes, you need to be in a particular blood sugar range in order to learn," said founder of diabetes advocacy group FOLLOWT1Ds Kerry Murphy.

Sen. Jeremy McPike (D-Prince William County), the chief patron of the bill, echoed this sentiment.

"When kids are in our care, we owe it to them to give them the best possible chances at being medically safe and getting an education," he said.  

For example, some plans may want the school nurse to monitor a child’s blood sugar levels using an app. This is potentially complicated by cell phone bans in certain counties.

Said bans are accounted for in SB 1303's provisions. If signed into law, the measure will allow students who monitor their own levels with their phones to have access to their phones if their DMMP calls for it.

The bill will also require schools to inform parents if their child is showing signs of having diabetes and will have screening available at the beginning of the school year. 

In our previous coverage on diabetes policy in Chesterfield County Public Schools, parents told 8News that some officials there are concerned about the liability of providing medical care like this. 

This bill includes existing Virginia policy that states that someone providing emergency care cannot be held liable.   

Murphy said that, overall this bill, will allow students to spend less time in the nurse’s office and more time in the classroom.  

“This isn’t just an issue at one school in one district," she said. "This is an issue that is impacting every student with diabetes.”  

Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s deadline to approve, amend or veto any bills -- including this one -- is March 24.