School nurses play a critical role as public health nurses and are guiding school communities through a global pandemic unlike anything seen in the past 100 years. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and worldwide shutdown, remote education became a necessity. In this article, three New Jersey school nurses share reflections about the COVID-19 pandemic. We illustrate the roles included in the National Association of School Nurses Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice, to describe school nurse contributions to address the COVID-19 community spread via contact tracing and care coordination. We describe school nurse advocacy through promotion of legislative inclusion in the state of New Jersey and efforts to mirror vaccine confidence. Our conclusion offers action steps to increase the presence of school nurses in key areas and build a more robust public health infrastructure.

State School Nurse Consultants provide leadership and technical assistance in many areas related to safety, education, and well-being of students. One area of assistance includes health surveillance and disease prevention. During the pandemic, summer of 2020, the legislative co-chairs of the New Jersey State School Nurses Association advocated for a State School Nurse Consultant position at the New Jersey Department of Education. The story of their relentless pursuit of legislation that would support this position is shared in this article archiving one of the most tumultuous times in recent school nursing history. Successful passage of a law to establish the position of a State School Nurse Consultant was only the initial step in a life-lesson about advocacy, patience, and collaboration. Learn about the roses and thorns of school nursing legislative advocacy and consider joining your affiliates’ legislative team!