August 2025

MARC MY WORDS: Back to school doesn’t have to hurt. 

Last week my kids went back to school. They had a fun summer. They attended different camps, classes and activities. They enjoyed time with their friends. They also traveled a bit, as we took a family road trip from Denver to Los Angeles stopping at national parks along the way. 

But now, my kids are students again. The oldest has just started high school, the middle is, coincidentally, in middle school, and the youngest is finishing her last year in elementary school. Three kids in three different schools. And so, we’ve been making sure each has a new backpack filled with the notebooks and other supplies requested by each of their teachers. And making sure they each have a new rescue inhalers ready for the new school year.   

When parents of children suffering from chronic conditions like asthma check to make sure their kids are ready to go back to school, they shouldn’t just be checking school supplies and books. They need to make sure they are communicating with their school about the child’s condition.

Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children nationwide. In Southern California, more than 10% of kids suffer from asthma. However, many of their families lack the tools to properly manage their condition. To provide support to these families, Breathe SoCal hosts free, bilingual, Lung Power Workshops, like the one we recently held at the Pomona Wellness Center. 

Families came together to learn from Breathe SoCal’s health educators how to better manage their child’s asthma through hands-on education, child-friendly activities, and practical tools like using non-toxic cleaners and identifying asthma triggers.

While this is a welcome step, when a new school year starts, it can be difficult for parents to navigate the complexities of the various campus, school district, and state policies. One thing that is certain, though, is the need for students with asthma to have quick access to their medication. But that is not always the case.

Two decades ago, Breathe SoCal was a major supporter of a state law that allows students to carry and self-administer their own asthma medication if they submit a form signed by their physician. New provisions were added just last year to allow schools to keep an emergency stock of inhalers for trained personnel to use in cases of a student’s respiratory distress, even if a student doesn't have a personal inhaler.

These laws have created a safer and more supportive environment for asthmatic students in California schools, ensuring their health needs can be met and that they can effectively manage their condition. But these laws do have some limitations.

First, physician permission for a student to self-administer much be resubmitted each year. In addition, many school districts don’t explain to parents that students have the option to carry and self-administer their inhaler. If a student does not get their physician’s signed permission, they are often required to leave their inhaler with the school nurse. But since over half of California’s public schools do not have a full-time school nurse (if they have one at all), many schools have untrained staff keep inhalers locked in a drawer in the school’s front office. Combined with possible misunderstandings by teachers and aides who may not be looped in about a child’s permission to self-administer, and potential anxiety by the student about using their inhaler in front of other students, it is critical that everyone involved is communicating clearly with each other. 

Schools already require so many things from parents at the start of a new school year, that additional forms, potential language barriers, and concerns about their child’s health can often be confusing and overwhelming for parents.

That is why communication is the key. First is communication between parents and their child’sdoctors, teachers, and school administrators, about the child’s asthma, when they havesymptoms, and when they may need their inhaler in school. Second is communication amongparents, teachers and the student themself, about the child’s asthma, their triggers, and symptomsfor the teacher to watch for in case the student is having breathing difficulties. Keeping an open line of communication is important to making sure the child is safe and healthy. 

Let’s make this school year a success for all California students by ensuring that they are healthy, happy, and learning without any difficulty breathing.

In health,

Marc Carrel

President & CEO

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