Type 1 diabetes at school in Illinois
What Illinois law and the state’s own guidance say about insulin, glucagon, supplies and phones at school, with each source quoted. Checked 2026-10-06.
| Insulin by trained staff | Yes |
| Glucagon by trained staff | Yes |
| Self-carry | Yes |
| State plan or guidelines | With limits |
| Phone for the CGM | Yes |
Can trained school staff give insulin?
Yes
A delegated care aide, a school employee who agrees to be trained and signs an agreement with the parent and the school, is trained to give insulin according to the student's diabetes care plan (105 ILCS 145/10, 145/25). (ilga.gov; isbe.net (PDF))
Can trained school staff give glucagon?
Yes
Delegated care aides are trained to respond in an emergency, including giving glucagon (105 ILCS 145/25). A delegated care aide authorized in the care plan may also give the school's undesignated glucagon when the student's own glucagon is not available or has expired (105 ILCS 145/27). (ilga.gov)
Can a student carry supplies and manage diabetes at school?
Yes
If the diabetes care plan authorizes it, a student may check blood glucose when and wherever needed, give insulin, treat lows and highs anywhere on school grounds and at school events, and carry diabetes supplies at all times (105 ILCS 145/30). (ilga.gov; isbe.net (PDF))
Does the state publish a diabetes care plan form or guidelines?
With limits
The State Board of Education publishes an Insulin Administration Chart, the standardized record of glucose readings and insulin doses that 105 ILCS 145/15 requires in each care plan. No state diabetes care plan template or school diabetes guideline from ISBE or IDPH was found. (isbe.net)
Can a student keep a phone for the CGM in class?
Yes
Public Act 104-0657 (SB 2427, approved July 28, 2026) requires school boards to adopt a wireless communication device policy by the 2027-2028 school year. The policy may not stop a student from using a device that a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner finds necessary for the student's health care, or that a 504 plan or medical orders require. The act does not name diabetes or CGM. (ilga.gov)
The American Diabetes Association’s Illinois page reads this differently: ADA says Illinois has no statewide school cellphone restrictions; its page predates Public Act 104-0657 (July 2026), which adds a statewide policy with a health care exception.
Also in Illinois
Illinois Care of Students with Diabetes Act (Public Act 96-1485, 2010), 105 ILCS 145. All teachers, administrators, and school support staff get basic diabetes training. Schools may stock undesignated glucagon (Public Act 101-428, 2019). A district may not assign a student to a different school because the school has no full-time nurse. An information sheet goes to any school employee who transports the student to school-sponsored activities. (ilga.gov; isbe.net (PDF))
Federal law applies in every state
Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act can cover a student with diabetes at a public school in every state, whatever the state law says; a 504 plan is where the student’s care at school is written down. The federal rules, with sources.
Sources, quoted
- ilga.gov: “(5) administer insulin according to the student's diabetes care plan and keep a record of the amount administered;”
- ilga.gov: “"Delegated care aide" means a school employee who has agreed to receive training in diabetes care and to assist students in implementing their diabetes care plan and has entered into an agreement with a parent or guardian and the school district or private school.”
- isbe.net (PDF): “Delegated care aides shall be trained to perform the tasks necessary to assist a student with diabetes in accordance with his or her diabetes care plan, including training to do the following:”
- ilga.gov: “(6) respond in an emergency, including administering glucagon and calling 9-1-1.”
- ilga.gov: “A school nurse or delegated care aide may administer undesignated glucagon if he or she is authorized to administer the undesignated glucagon through a student's diabetes care plan and if the student's prescribed glucagon is not available on-site or has expired.”
- ilga.gov: “Provided that the student is authorized according to his or her diabetes care plan, a student shall be permitted to do the following: (1) check blood glucose when and wherever needed;”
- isbe.net (PDF): “(3) treat hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia and otherwise attend to the care and management of his or her diabetes in the classroom, in any area of the school or school grounds and at any school-related activity or event in accordance with the diabetes care plan;”
- isbe.net (PDF): “possess on his or her person, at all times, the supplies and equipment necessary to monitor and treat diabetes, including, but not limited to, glucometers, lancets, test strips, insulin, syringes, insulin pens and needle tips, insulin pumps, infusion sets, alcohol swabs, a glucagon injection kit, glucose tablets, and food and drink, in accordance with the diabetes care plan.”
- isbe.net: “"A diabetes care plan shall include a uniform record of glucometer readings and insulin administered by the school nurse or delegated care aide during the school day using a standardized format provided by the State Board of Education."”
- isbe.net: “Insulin Administration Chart Word Format Insulin Administration Chart PDF Format”
- ilga.gov: “(c) The policy adopted and implemented under subsection (b) may not prohibit a student from using a wireless communication device during school time under the following circumstances: (1) if a licensed physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner determines that the possession or use of a wireless communication device is necessary for the management of the student's health care and the student uses the wireless communication device only as prescribed by the licensed physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner;”
- ilga.gov: “(2) to fulfill an individualized education program, a plan developed under Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the student's health care provider's medical orders, or another written accommodation plan;”
- ilga.gov: “(a) Teachers, administrators, and school support personnel shall receive training in the basics of diabetes care, how to identify when a student with diabetes needs immediate or emergency medical attention, and whom to contact in the case of an emergency as outlined in Sections 10-22.39 and 3-11 of the School Code.”
- ilga.gov: “A school may maintain a supply of glucagon in any secure location that is immediately accessible to a school nurse or a delegated care aide.”
- isbe.net (PDF): “A school district shall not restrict the assignment of a student with diabetes to a particular school on the basis that the school does not have a full-time school nurse, nor shall a school deny a student access to any school or school-related activities on the basis that a student has diabetes.”
- ilga.gov: “(f) An information sheet shall be provided to any school employee who transports a student for school-sponsored activities.”
Legal information, not legal advice. Laws change; the source page is the authority when it differs, and this page is rechecked each July. For help with a school, the American Diabetes Association’s legal advocates answer at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383).