Teacher Confiscated Student’s Glucose Monitor During A Test Because Electronics Were Not Allowed
Her son's teacher failed to realize how severe the medical situation was.
Tyler Olson | Shutterstock A mom on Reddit questioned if she was wrong for reporting her son's teacher after he confiscated the teen's glucose monitor during a test because electronics were prohibited. She explained that her 13-year-old son was reprimanded by his teacher for attempting to leave the classroom in the middle of a math test because his diabetes glucose monitor had signaled that he needed to test his sugar immediately.
While electronic bans make sense in a broader sense to prohibit students from cheating, a medical device doesn't exactly fall into the same category. Unfortunately, the teacher wasn't properly educated about the student's needs, and instead of a trip to the nurse's office, the teen ended up with detention. Now this mom is fuming, and she has every right to be.
A teacher confiscated his student's glucose monitor during a test because electronics were not allowed.
R Kristoffersen | Shutterstock
In her Reddit post, the mom explained that her 13-year-old son has Type 1 diabetes and has special instructions with the school explicitly stating that he's allowed to check his glucose monitor and treat any issues that he's having throughout the day, including during tests and class instruction.
Apparently, one of his teachers didn't get the memo, however. During a math exam, the teen's glucose monitor alarmed, indicating he needed to check his blood sugar, but his teacher decided the solution was to remove the medical device and punish the boy instead of helping.
The student received detention for checking his glucose monitor in the middle of a math test.
"His sensor buzzed; he raised his hand and told his teacher he needed to check. The teacher said, 'No electronics, period,' and told him to wait. My son told me that he felt shaky, glanced at his CGM for the number, and the teacher confiscated the receiver and assigned detention for using a device during testing," she recalled.
When he was finally able to reach the nurse's office, the teenager was told that his levels were dropping rapidly and he needed to drink juice to bring them back up. Luckily, the incident wasn't more serious, but this teacher was clearly unaware of the severity of the situation.
The teacher should have been aware of the student's condition.
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At the very least, the teacher should have excused his student to go to the nurse regardless of the test. More importantly, however, he should have been educated in the basics when it comes to having a student with Type 1 Diabetes.
According to the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes, monitoring devices, known as CGMs, are extremely important for children and teens with diabetes because they help them to easily care for themselves by preventing diabetic emergencies. They noted that it's important for anyone acting as a guardian or caregiver to a child with a CGM, like this teacher, to have a basic understanding of how to use them to prevent "severe hypoglycemic events."
Once the mom learned that her son was denied immediate care by his teacher, she sent him an email with a copy of his 504 files, further proving that her son should be able to leave the class when his monitor goes off. Unfortunately, instead of apologizing, she said he told her "that rules have to be consistent and that allowing devices looks like cheating."
The mom demanded that the administrators remove her son's detention and retrain the staff.
Removing the detention and retraining staff seems like the bare minimum when it comes to the response from the school, but this mom had a hard time getting even that.
"The assistant principal reversed the detention, but the teacher doubled down in front of the class, saying testing integrity comes first, which humiliated my kid," she continued. After hearing this, she decided to file an incident report with the principal and district because she refused to wait until there was a time when her son was denied care and ended up in a hospital.
Considering this was an actual medical emergency and not just a teenager trying to get out of taking a test, she wasn't in the wrong at all for being worried about her child's safety. Type 1 diabetes can quickly escalate into a life-threatening emergency, and it was just pure luck that her son didn't require a trip to the hospital after being denied care.
The young boy's mom did the right thing, advocating for her son to ensure that ignoring his glucose monitor would never happen again. In situations where a child's health may be at risk, being vigilant as a parent is never an overreaction.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
