Some disabled American children are going to school with "Do Not Resuscitate" orders for teachers and staff. An article in the Chicago Tribune focused on a second-grader, Katie Jones, who cannot walk or talk and is fed through a stomach tube. Her teachers have been told that in an emergency she must not be given cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or intubated, or defibrillated. The aim is to keep the child from dying in a prolonged agony surrounded by beeping machines.

The Lake County school district, northeast of Chicago, has established procedures which will permit a child to die at the school if there is a crisis. Not all educators are happy with the idea. According to a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics, some schools feel that untrained staff might misinterpret a DNR order or might not respond to an easily reversible condition. ~ Chicago Tribune, Dec 9