State education official: school nurses recorded 33,780 students with asthma in 2022–23

Amanda Johnson, school nurse consultant in the Tennessee Department of Education’s Division of Coordinated School Health, presented findings from the statute-required annual health services survey for the 2022–23 school year.

Johnson said districts reported 33,780 students with confirmed asthma diagnoses and clarified that the survey counts students (not incidents of care). She provided procedure counts: 13,367 students had oxygen saturation checked at least once; schools reported 961 nebulizer treatments and 146 peak-flow measurements; 47 students were documented as receiving oxygen in the public-school setting. On medication administration, Johnson said school staff reported 22,838 administrations of prescribed albuterol and 476 uses of stock albuterol provided under standing orders in some districts.

Johnson explained the survey asks districts to report only confirmed medical diagnoses (provider statement, diagnosis code, or documented inhaler/medication use) and that the state removed a self-reported asthma measure to reduce over-reporting. She also said about 30% of Tennessee public schools do not have a full-time school nurse, and she recommended that students with conditions likely to cause emergencies have written asthma action plans for nonmedical staff.

Johnson offered to share the annual report link in chat for districts or clinicians to review details, and invited questions about using or interpreting the survey results.