Billings parents are packing backpacks and setting alarms ahead of the first day of school Wednesday, but for some families, preparation goes beyond the basics.Watch more below: Billings parents worry about school nurse shortage s for kids with disabilitiesParents of children with disabilities say they carry growing concerns about who will respond in a medical emergency, and whether their children's needs will truly be met during the school day as schools across the region face shortages of nurses.Randi Brown works as a veterinary technician at the Animal Hospital off Main Street during the day, but her role as a mother never stops. Her son Joshua was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 10 years ago."(He was) diagnosed September 2nd, 2016. It was the first day of head start," Brown said.She says sending Joshua to school brings added nerves every year.Brown says she does not want to discredit the work school nurses do, but points to a larger issue."She's been great. But she also deals with kindergarten all the way through 12th grade. And there's multiple diabetics out in Huntley. So I can't imagine how busy she is," Brown said.Tonya Fuhrmann, founder of the Montana Youth Diabetes Alliance, says there simply are not enough school nurses to go around."The hard thing about school nurses in Montana is I think we have like 302 or 322... schools and 100 school nurses," Fuhrmann said.According to the Montana Nurse Association, the ratio of school nurses to students in 2023 was 1 to 950, meaning each nurse is responsible for an average of 950 students every day."They can be taking care anywhere up to 50 students to 3,500 students," Fuhrmann said.School District 2 in Billings assigns 2 schools to each of its 16 full-time nurses. While the district tries to assign schools that are close to each other, emergencies can't always wait. For Joshua, the stakes are high."He's really sensitive. He can be 200 and then go to gym class and it'll drop him down into the 50s," Brown said.Fuhrmann says a 504 plan is one of the most important tools available to families navigating these concerns. A 504 plan is a formally written document that outlines the accommodations a student needs."For the 504 plan it applies to public and private schools employers and places of public accommodation receiving federal funds including religious operated schools," Fuhrmann said.Fuhrmann recommends that all parents of students with disabilities pursue a 504 plan. She has also launched an initiative that places low treatment boxes in classrooms for Type 1 diabetic students. "They look like this," Fuhrmann said.Efforts like that initiative are helping parents like Brown feel a little less nervous about trusting her child's safety to the school. ...read more read less