A quadriplegic high school student can’t have one of her nurses at school with her because the superintendent says it violates state law.
Natalia Scovil was accidentally shot in the neck at 3 years old, leaving her paralyzed. The family has hired multiple nurses to provide the 24/7 medical care she requires. Three nurses attend school with Natalia, 14, on various days, her mother Joline Scovil said.
One nurse, Haily Keezer, is a member of the Hermon School Committee. Her presence would violate a state law that stipulates school board members or their spouses cannot be employed in the school the board governs, Superintendent Barbara Sargent said.
The freshman’s choice of nurse is left up to interpretations of a state law that was revised in 2021.
Natalia has an individualized education program that includes private nurses, which are paid through the private nursing agency hired by the family. The school doesn’t pay Keezer for the nursing job.
At issue is a disagreement over the interpretation of a state law that bars school committee members from working for schools they oversee. The superintendent says Keezer is a school employee because she works in a classroom, while the family maintains Keezer, and the other nurses, are paid through a nursing agency the family hired. The school is not involved in the hiring or payment processes, Scovil said.
That state law says in part “a member of a school board or spouse of a member may not be an employee in a public school within the jurisdiction of the school board to which the member is elected.” It defines an employee as someone who receives “ongoing monetary payment or benefits for personal services performed for a school administrative unit.”
Disability Rights Maine, a federally mandated protection and advocacy system, declined to comment because it is a specific case.
Having a nurse constantly in school has worked fine since Natalia started pre-K, until the family hired a new nurse in early February and a new superintendent started in April, Scovil said.
Natalia wants to work with nurses she is comfortable with and it is difficult to find qualified people amid a nurse shortage, Scovil said.
School committee members make the final decision for important matters related to students and staff that require them to be impartial, Sargent said. Members create policies and offer guidance to help the school, she said.
“They should not be helping to run the school by taking on positions such as teacher, secretary or — in this case — a one-to-one nurse,” Sargent said.
Everything was going great when Keezer started working in the school in February, Scovil said. Keezer, who was elected in June 2022, was there just on Thursdays to fill an open position after Natalia’s previous nurse moved away.
That changed once Sargent started as superintendent on April 1 and learned about a committee member working in the school.
“I cannot speak to why this was not addressed by earlier leadership,” Sargent said. “In my experience as a superintendent in other school districts, there has never been a School Board/Committee member working in one of the schools. It is a clear violation of statute and policy.”
Once the issue was brought up to the Scovils and Keezer, the nurse wasn’t allowed to work in the high school anymore.
Any conflict of interest was cleared before Keezer started as Natalia’s nurse, Keezer said. Because there’s no conflict of interest, there’s no reason to resign, she said.
“This was done in retaliation, and it’s unfortunate no one considered the impact it would have on the student and their family,” Keezer said. “There isn’t a conflict of interest, and I won’t abandon the needs of my community.”
The frustrated family brought the issue to a school committee meeting on May 5, alongside community members who voiced their support.
Natalia doesn’t want a random person as a nurse, she said at the meeting. She said she’s missing out on time with friends and classes. Natalia does not participate in school on that day now.
Nothing changed after the meeting, Scovil said.
They can’t just hire a random new nurse for Natalia because there are a lot of specific medical needs and the nurse needs to be someone the teenager is comfortable with, Scovil said.
“I’m not going to hire somebody off the street,” Scovil said.
The nurses ride on the bus with Natalia, they stay at the family’s home until either parent is back from work and they prepare reports for other nurses, she said. Two other nurses work the rest of the school week and there are separate nurses for overnight.
For now, Natalia won’t go to school on Thursdays for the rest of the year, which amounts to about six more weeks.
Thursday is the day Natalia has occupational, speech and physical therapies provided by the school. The family can’t take her to those appointments elsewhere.
“So not only are you denying her education, you’re denying those three therapies that she has to have,” Scovil said.
The family will take legal action if necessary, Scovil said.
“The district welcomes the opportunity to resolve this matter in a thoughtful and appropriate manner,” Sargent said. “This situation did not have to evolve as it has and we look forward to an agreeable resolution.”
