Parent calls on Gilbert district to honor DNR order for son
Independent Newsmedia/Tom Blodgett
Gilbert Public Schools parent Susie Jackson, right, addresses the GPS Governing Board about her do-not-resuscitate order for her son Rigo, who is at her side.
A Gilbert mother urged the Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board to recognize a do-not-resuscitate order for her 17-year-old son during public comment Sept. 23, even as state law does not compel the district to follow such directives.
Susie Jackson said her son Rigo, who has disabilities, deserves to have his physician’s wishes respected if a medical emergency occurs.
“That leads me to our dilemma about our son's DNR orders,” Jackson said. “The law also does not obligate Gilbert to follow these orders. They leave it up to the district to make their own decision. I think we all hope Gilbert will do the right thing and choose to honor a physician's order for a DNR. Even though you aren't obligated to do so, you would choose what is best for that student — a decision that was not made lightly.”
She emphasized that the choice was carefully made in consultation with family and medical professionals.
Jackson said the district has previously failed to advocate for Rigo, including when he was not consistently fed during his sophomore year.
“You did what you were doing now,” she said. “You ignored his physician's order and he missed being fed approximately 72 times.”
She compared the district’s position on DNR orders to other physician instructions that are routinely followed in schools.
“You allow for many physician's orders to be followed, feeding G-tubes, oxygen, medications, seizure protocols and action plans,” Jackson said. “This is no different. This is simply an action plan in the case of cardiac arrest.”
Because Jackson spoke during the public comment period of a board meeting, board members could not respond to her remarks under state law.
In a statement, the district said it takes student health and well-being seriously but must comply with state statutes.
Gilbert Public Schools' statement noted Arizona law specifies do-not-resuscitate orders and pre-hospital medical care directives do not apply in school settings, and district staff are not authorized to comply with them.
“District personnel shall not comply with DNR Orders or PHMC (pre-hospital medical care) directives or other directives or requests that emergency life-sustaining care be withheld from a student in need of such care while the student is under the control and supervision of the district,” the statement read.
The district said requests regarding DNRs must instead be directed to emergency responders or medical providers. It added that while school nurses can carry out many medical protocols for students, state law does not authorize them to recognize a DNR order.
Jackson concluded her comments by asking the board to reconsider its stance.
“Be the leader you professed during your campaigns and do the right thing now,” she said. “Follow these physician orders and allow Rigo to attend Gilbert High School and graduate with his peers.”
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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