Lewis School Nurse program
Lewis prepares Illinois RNs for the Professional Educator License with a School Nurse endorsement, through an MSN or a shorter non-degree route. Both center on NURS 56700 School Nurse Internship, 300 clock hours over 16 weeks, and you must pass ISBE test 236 before it. Lewis's own sources disagree on credits and hours, and none says who arranges the internship; this page lays out both.
Find your school nurse internship
Tell us your route, where in Illinois you live and your internship semester.
Two routes, one internship
The MSN adds the graduate core, a combined pathophysiology, pharmacology and physical assessment course, and a capstone to the school nurse courses. The non-degree route is for nurses with a bachelor's degree who want the endorsement without the master's. ISBE approves the non-degree program, and both routes share the three courses at the heart of the endorsement.
| Course | Title | Credits | MSN | Non-degree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSN core (6 courses) | NURS 51700, NURS 55900, NURS 53300, NURS 53400, NURS 53600, NURS 73500 | 18 | Yes | No |
NURS 53700 | Integrated Advanced Pathophysiology, Pharmacology and Physical Assessment for the Nurse Educator | 4 | Yes | No |
NURS 56600 | Concepts of School Nurse Practice | 3 | Yes | Yes |
NURS 56700 | School Nurse Internship (300 clock hours) | 3 | Yes | Yes |
SPED 55700 | Exceptional Learners in Inclusive Communities | 3 | Yes | Yes |
NURS 56750 | School Nurse Capstone: Planning and Preparation | 1 | Yes | No |
NURS 56800 | School Nurse Capstone (field experience) | 2 | Yes | No |
Added up, the catalog's courses make 34 credits for the MSN and 9 for the non-degree program. NURS 53700 is shared with the Nursing Education MSN.
Where Lewis's numbers disagree
On School Nurse, Lewis's published figures clash in several places. Here is each conflict as Lewis prints it.
- MSN credits: 34 in the 2026-27 catalog; 38 in the graduate nursing FAQ and the 2023 graduate viewbook.
- Non-degree credits: 9 in the catalog; 38 in the FAQ.
- MSN clinical hours: 450 in the FAQ; the catalog prints only the 300 internship hours and gives none for the
NURS 56800capstone field experience. - Non-degree hours: 300 in the FAQ, which matches the internship.
- Internship prerequisites:
NURS 56700listsRDLT 50700andSPED 51600, and neither appears in either School Nurse curriculum. - Non-degree admission GPA: 3.0 in the catalog; the School Nurse page allows provisional admission from 2.75 to 3.0.
The catalog is the current curriculum of record, but the FAQ figures may reflect hours your faculty still expect. Ask the School Nurse track coordinator which numbers apply to your cohort, and how the missing prerequisites are handled, before you register for the internship semester.
If the FAQ's 450 hours apply to your MSN, 150 of them fall outside the internship, perhaps in the capstone field experience. That split is our arithmetic and inference, not Lewis's statement, so get the answer from your track coordinator in writing.
Before the internship: test 236 and background checks
ISBE test 236 comes first: the catalog requires you to pass it before you can start NURS 56700, so book the test with enough margin for a retake. Lewis's School Nurse page adds that a school district may require a second fingerprint check at the time of your internship, and that ISBE licensure can be denied for certain felonies on a candidate's record.
For background checks, the same page says the college keeps a relationship with a vendor, gives candidates the details at orientation and has them complete the check ahead of their first field experience. Lewis's contract materials name CastleBranch for clinical compliance, so ask whether your School Nurse package runs through it; the CastleBranch guide explains how it works. Students pay the fees for background checks and clinical documentation, while Lewis covers student clinical insurance.
The NURS 56700 internship
The internship is a 16-week supervised experience of 300 clock hours in public schools, community facilities and clinics. The catalog names all three, so your hours can come from more than one host if your faculty agree.
Our arithmetic puts 300 hours over 16 weeks at a little under 19 hours weekly. Schools run on their own calendars, so lay the district's breaks against Lewis's semester dates: a recess that does not match Lewis's can cost you a week of hours, so plan those weeks with your supervising nurse before the semester starts.
MSN students then finish with NURS 56750 School Nurse Capstone: Planning and Preparation and NURS 56800 School Nurse Capstone, a field experience whose hours the catalog does not state.
Who arranges the school placement
Lewis does not say. Its School Nurse pages describe the internship and the district fingerprint check but not who finds the district or the school nurse who supervises you, and the FAQ's placement answer covers only nurse practitioner tracks. The CONHS contract portal describes its request as required of every student entering a clinical practicum, so find out whether a school internship is filed there and how far ahead.
Our help fits that gap. We contact districts and school health programs near you, find a school nurse willing to supervise a 16-week intern, and give you the details your track coordinator needs to decide. Your faculty approve the placement; we make sure it reaches them complete and early. Who does what at Lewis shows which office handles which question.
An Illinois credential
Enrollment is open from Lewis's 18 authorized jurisdictions, but the two School Nurse disclosures carry a blunt line: licensure is approved for Illinois only. The School Nurse page also requires a current Illinois RN license, and the endorsement itself is issued by ISBE.
Lewis's catalog adds that its field placements align with Illinois academic experiences and that placements outside Illinois may need extra permission. Put together, the program is built for an Illinois internship and an Illinois school nursing career. If you live near a state line, plan your internship on the Illinois side, even if a closer district sits across the border. State authorization has the tables, and the Illinois regions guide covers the districts and health systems around you.
How we help School Nurse students
- Confirm your numbersWe note which credit and hour figures your coordinator confirms, so the search matches your real requirement.
- Find districts near youWe approach public school districts, community facilities and clinics in your part of Illinois about hosting a 16-week intern.
- Line up the supervising nurseWe confirm the school nurse's willingness and schedule, plus the district's own onboarding, including any second fingerprint check.
- Deliver complete detailsYou take a ready proposal to your track coordinator well before the internship semester, and we stay on call if the district's staffing or plans change mid-semester.
Tell us your route, your county and your internship semester on the request form, and we begin with the districts closest to you.
Questions Lewis students ask
What does Lewis's School Nurse program lead to?
An Illinois educator credential: the Professional Educator License carrying a School Nurse endorsement, which the Illinois State Board of Education issues. ISBE has approved the non-degree route, and its test 236 is the gate to the internship. The MSN route adds a master's degree on top of the same endorsement courses.
Can I enroll in the School Nurse program from outside Illinois?
Lewis authorizes School Nurse enrollment from its 18 approved jurisdictions, but licensure is approved for Illinois only and the School Nurse page asks for a current Illinois RN license. The endorsement is an Illinois educator credential, so the program suits nurses who plan to work in Illinois schools.
Who is the faculty contact for the School Nurse track?
Lewis's nursing staff directory lists a combined School Nurse and PMHNP track coordinator. That coordinator is the right person for the credit and hour questions on this page and for how your internship site is chosen, while the Clinical Placement Office answers questions about the contract portal.
Does Lewis report School Nurse pass rates?
Yes, on its MSN page, without naming the exam. Lewis reports 94% for 2018, 100% for 2019 and 2020, 93% for 2021, 92% for 2022 and 2023, and 10 of 10 graduates for 2024. These are Lewis's own figures, and its 2016-17 entry reads only "Low N".
Is there a time limit on the School Nurse MSN?
Yes: five consecutive years, starting with your first graduate course after admission, as for every other Lewis MSN track. A leave of absence does not extend it, so a delayed internship semester, or a failed first attempt at test 236, eats into that window.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Lewis's own catalog, program pages and FAQ, its contract portal and Illinois law. Your course, your track coordinator and the Clinical Placement Office have the final word.
Lewis asks you to identify your preceptor. We do the searching.
Tell us your Lewis program, where you live and when your next practicum starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and prepare every detail the contract portal asks for, so your request goes in complete.
- Preceptors matched to the practicum: primary care for
NURS 61100andNURS 61800, acute care forNURS 62500, psychiatric care forNURS 63300 - Preceptor, license and site details ready for your preceptor contract request
- In your own community, anywhere Lewis enrolls you and your RN license is valid
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