June 3, 2020
To our community of Nationally Certified School Nurses and NCSN Certification Candidates:
In light of recent tragic events and national unrest, the National Board for Certification of School Nurses (NBCSN) writes to make it clear where our organization stands on systemic racism in our communities, schools, workplaces, and beyond. On behalf of the better health and education of all children, our mission is to advance the quality of school health services and school nursing practice. As nurses, we know that structural racism can have devastating impacts on the social determinants of health and the wellbeing of our school communities. Therefore, racism in our community will not be tolerated under any circumstances, and we will work to change those structures that have led to disparate treatment of communities of color wherever we can have an impact.
Black women, men, and children are subjected to pervasive violations of their human rights on a regular basis. They experience discrimination, inequality, abuse from authority; and yes – even death by police brutality. The alarmingly disproportionate rates of COVID –19 disease in communities of color further provides stark illustration of disparities in access to health care among communities of color. NBCSN stands in solidarity that Black Lives Matter. Our organization sees the disparate treatment caused by color within our communities. We see the lack of equality in America. We see you, we hear you, and we are ready to listen. As a matter of social justice, we are committed to condemning racism and supporting policies and practices that advocate for equity across health and educational systems.
NBCSN is committed to increasing the diversity both of our Board and the ranks of nationally certified school nurses. We are working to identify and take actions that will increase our allyship to nurses, students, school communities, and global citizens who are Brown, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), as well as LGBTQ persons and anyone who identifies uniquely. But we need to do better. We ask for your support and engagement to help us grow as an organization to be more aware and accountable to high standards in the specialty of school nursing, both professionally and ethically, and to take action to promote inclusion, equity, justice and peace in our society.
The NBCSN Board of Directors