Ramsey Bd. of Ed. v. Ramsey Teachers Association

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Ramsey Bd. of Ed.
v.
Ramsey Teachers Association

APRIL 2005

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

IN THIS ISSUE

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Many of us were fascinated by shadows when we were kids. We could have hours of fun in the company of our own shadows. But would it still be fun if we had to pay for it? In the context of staffing schools with nurses, the answer is a resounding no. In the Ramsey school district, a controversy arose when the board hired a licensed registered nurse who did not possess certification as a school nurse to work as a “school health aide” under the supervision of a certified school nurse. This position of school health aide had been created by the Ramsey Board of Education in June 1998; it did not require certification as a school nurse. The district already had one full-time certified school nurse as required by statute. During the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 school years, a certified school nurse was employed by the Ramsey Board on a part-time basis and assigned to one of the elementary schools, and the Board employed a part-time school health aide for the times when the school nurse could not be present. On this factual basis, the Teachers’ Association (union) filed a petition of appeal with the Commissioner of Education (Commissioner) challenging the use of non-certified nurses by the Board when certified school nurses were not present in the building. At issue was the interpretation of N.J.S.A. 18A:40-3.3 which provides that:
	A school district shall only utilize or employ for the provision of nursing services in the public schools of the district persons holding an educational services certificate with an endorsement as a school nurse issued by the State Board of Examiners, except for those non-nursing personnel who are otherwise authorized by statute or regulation to perform specific health related services….A school district may supplement the services provided by the certified school nurse with non-certified nurses, provided that the non-certified nurse is assigned to the same school building or school complex as the certified school nurse.
Both the Administrative Law Judge who made the initial determination, and the Commissioner, agreed that the Ramsey Board was not violating the statute by having the part-time certified nurse assigned to the same building as the non-certified nurse. The union appealed to the State Board of Education. NJSBA, at the request of the Ramsey Board, participated as amicus curiae before the State Board arguing that the legislative intent of the statute warranted affirming the Commissioner’s decision. The State Board agreed with NJSBA’s position, affirming the Commissioner’s decision upholding the use of the school health aides. The State Board reasoned that if the school health aide was limited to merely “shadowing” the certified school nurse, then the flexibility that was inherently part of the statute would be destroyed. The State Board did stress, however, that the school health aide’s duties must be limited to providing supplemental services and not the specific certified services of the school nurse delineated in the education statutes and regulations. Ramsey Teachers Ass’n v. Ramsey Bd. of Ed., State Board decision, September 1, 2004. The union has filed an appeal with the Appellate Division of Superior Court. NJSBA will be participating in the matter as amicus curiae. Briefs are due in April 2005.