Living with Diabetes

This page contains pleadings and other litigation materials related to the Association's involvement in litigation to ensure proper care for students with diabetes in California schools, including a lawsuit brought by the Association in 2005 and settled in 2007, and subsequent litigation brought against the California Department of Education (CDE) challenging part of that settlement.

K.C., et al . v. O'Connell, et al.

The Association (along with four families of children with diabetes) filed this lawsuit in October 2005 against the CDE and two California school districts alleging that the districts had failed to provide adequate diabetes care and that the CDE failed to ensure that local districts met their obligations under federal law to serve students with diabetes. In 2007, the Association entered into separate settlement agreements with the CDE and with the local school districts. The landmark settlement with the CDE involved commitments by CDE to issue a Legal Advisory clarifying the legal rights of students with diabetes, and to increase its efforts to monitor local district compliance with federal laws requiring services for students with diabetes.

• Complaint (Oct. 2005) (PDF 256 KB)
• Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Nov. 2005) (PDF 4.5 MB)
• Settlement Agreement with the San Ramon Valley Unified School District (Apr. 2007) (PDF 305 KB)
• Settlement Agreement with the California Department of Education (Aug. 2007) (PDF 2.19 MB)
• Legal Advisory on Rights of Students with Diabetes in California 's K-12 Public Schools (Aug. 2007) (PDF 63 KB)

American Nurses Association, et al., v. O'Connell, et al.

Four nursing organizations sued the CDE following the settlement of the K.C. litigation seeking to invalidate, through a petition for writ of mandate, the part of that settlement which permits unlicensed school personnel to administer insulin to students eligible for services under Section 504 or IDEA where a school nurse is not available. The Association intervened in the case to protect the rights of California students with diabetes to receive insulin administration when needed at school. A state trial court and the Third District appellate court ruled in favor of the nursing organizations, but the California Supreme Court granted review of the case in September 2010, and the case is currently pending before that court. The lower court rulings are stayed pending the outcome of Supreme Court review.

• Intervenor's Opposition to Petition for Writ of Mandate (Sep. 2008) (PDF 150 KB)
• Declaration of Francine M. Kaufman in Opposition to Petition for Writ of Mandate (Sep. 2008) (PDF 139 KB)
• Declaration of Linda Siminerio in Opposition to Petition for Writ of Mandate (Sep. 2008) (PDF 135 KB)
• Trial Court Decision Granting Petition for Writ of Mandate (Dec. 2008) (PDF )
• Appellant ADA’s Opening Brief on Appeal (Oct. 2009) (PDF )
• Appellant ADA’s Reply Brief on Appeal (Dec. 2009) (PDF )
• Court of Appeal Decision (June 2010) (PDF )
• Petition for California Supreme Court Review (July 2010 )
• Petitioner ADA's Opening Brief to California Supreme Court (Dec. 2010) (PDF )
• Petitioner ADA’s Reply Brief to California Supreme Court (April 2011) (PDF )
• Amicus Brief of the American Academy of Pediatrics - California District, American Academy of Pediatrics - Section on Endocrinology, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, The Endocrine Society, and the Pediatric Endocrine Society (May 2011) (PDF )
• Amicus Brief of the Children’s Rights Clinic, Disability Rights Advocates, Disability Rights California, Disability Rights Legal Center, Disability Rights Texas, The Los Angeles Unified School District and The Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center (May 2011) (PDF )
• Amicus Brief of the Child Care Law Center (May 2011) (PDF )
• Amicus Brief of the U.S. Department of Justice (May 2011) (PDF )
• Amicus Brief of the California Department of Education (May 2011) (PDF )
• Amicus Brief of the California School Boards Association (May 2011) (PDF )