A mother in Markham, Ont., is spearheading a push to have schools in Ontario take more responsibility in assisting students with Type 1 diabetes.

Shana Betz's 19-month-old daughter Emma — who has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes — needs a lot of daily care.

"I need to test Emma on average 10 to 12 times a day. We need to dose for every carbohydrate that she eats," she said.

Type 1 diabetes is caused by insulin deficiency and is treated with insulin injections. It occurs when insulin-producing cells in the pancreas that are needed to control blood sugar are destroyed.

Betz has been able to find a daycare that will accommodate Emma's special needs. Emma will remain in daycare for two years, after which she will begin attending school, a prospect that worries Betz.

"Right now as it stands, I don't feel I can send my daughter to school," she said.

Currently, school staff in Ontario are not required to help diabetic students monitor blood-sugar levels or provide insulin injections.

Emma wears a pump that regulates her insulin levels, "so it's a matter of a couple of buttons to get her insulin," said Betz.

'Confusion could be lethal'

"But if a young child mixed up a 0.5 and a five, that confusion could be lethal."

Betz and another group of parents plan to meet with Education Minister Kathleen Wynne in January to try to convince her to enact new measures to boost school assistance to diabetic children.

New Brunswick is now the only province that mandates that school staff must be trained and able to provide assistance to diabetic children. The province's education act outlines a protocol on how schools must support children with the condition.

"There should be a team in place at the school level, and they [should] sit down with the parents and help to design some sort of a support program for that child in case there are any issues related to their diabetes while at school," said Jake Reid, the regional director of the Canadian Diabetes Association in New Brunswick.

In Ontario, Cambridge Conservative MPP Gerry Martiniuk introduced a private member's bill in June that would have instituted such a program in the province. But that bill was voted down by a margin of 26-13. Wynne was one of those who voted against the bill.