Today's Law As Amended


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AB-2116 Pupil health: seizure disorders.(2019-2020)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.

 Article 4.6 (commencing with Section 49468) is added to Chapter 9 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:

Article  4.6. The Seizure Safe Schools Act
49468.
 This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Seizure Safe Schools Act.
49468.1.
 For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, charter school, private school, or parochial school.
(b) “School” means a public, private, or parochial school.
(c) “Seizure action plan” means a written, individualized health plan designed to acknowledge and prepare for the health care needs of a pupil diagnosed with a seizure disorder.
49468.2.
 (a) Commencing January 1, 2022, the governing board or governing body of a local educational agency shall have at each school under its jurisdiction at least one school employee who has received training on all of the following:
(1) Administering, or assisting with the self-administration of, a seizure rescue medication, or a medication prescribed to treat seizure disorder symptoms, approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, or any successor agency.
(2) Manual vagus nerve stimulation.
(3) Recognition of the signs and symptoms of seizures and the appropriate steps to be taken to respond to those symptoms.
(b) If a school employs a registered nurse full time and the registered nurse assumes the duties specified in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a), the school is complying with subdivision (a).
(c) A school shall provide training to school personnel with direct contact and supervision of pupils, including, but not limited to, principals, school counselors, teachers, bus drivers, and classroom aides, on recognizing the signs and symptoms of seizures and the appropriate steps for seizure first aid.
49468.3.
 Training programs or guidelines adopted by a state agency for the training of school personnel in the health care needs of pupils diagnosed with a seizure disorder shall be fully consistent with training programs and guidelines developed by the Epilepsy Foundation of America.
49468.4.
 (a) Notwithstanding Section 49422, a pupil who is required to take, during the regular schoolday, seizure rescue medication or medication prescribed to treat seizure disorder symptoms prescribed to the pupil by the pupil’s health care provider may be assisted by the school nurse or other designated school personnel who has received the training specified in Section 49468.2 in the administration of that medication or may self-administer that medication, if the school obtains the authorization and information required pursuant to subdivision (b).
(b) Before administering a seizure rescue medication or medication prescribed to treat seizure disorder symptoms to a pupil, a school shall obtain both of the following from the pupil’s parent or guardian:
(1) (A) Authorization, in writing, for the medication to be administered to the pupil at school.
(B) Authorization pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be effective for the school year in which it is granted, and shall be renewed each school year.
(2) A copy of a statement, in writing, from the pupil’s health care provider that contains the following information:
(A) The pupil’s name.
(B) The name and purpose of the medication.
(C) The prescribed dosage.
(D) The route of administration.
(E) The frequency of administration.
(F) The circumstances under which the medication may be administered.
(c) (1) A school shall collaborate with the parent or guardian of each pupil diagnosed with a seizure disorder to create a seizure action plan. The state board shall adopt regulations establishing procedures for the development and content of seizure action plans.
(2) If the school obtains written consent from a pupil’s parent or guardian, in accordance with Section 99.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the seizure action plan shall be distributed to any school personnel or volunteers responsible for the supervision or care of that pupil.
(d) The authorization and statement required pursuant to subdivision (b) and the seizure action plan created pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be kept on file in the office of the school nurse or a school administrator, in compliance with all applicable state and federal privacy laws.
49468.5.
 Seizure rescue medication or medication prescribed to treat seizure disorder symptoms prescribed to a pupil shall be provided to the school in its unopened, sealed package, with the label affixed by the dispensing pharmacy intact.
49468.6.
 This article shall apply to a school that has a pupil enrolled who has a seizure disorder and has been prescribed, by the pupil’s health care provider, a seizure rescue medication, or medication to treat seizure disorder symptoms, that has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, or any successor agency.
49468.7.
 A school shall provide to all pupils an age-appropriate seizure education program on seizures and seizure disorders. The seizure education program shall be consistent with guidelines published by the Epilepsy Foundation of America. The state board shall adopt regulations for the development and implementation of a seizure education program pursuant to this section.
49468.8.
 A local educational agency, or any employee or agent of the local educational agency, acting in good faith and in substantial compliance with a pupil’s seizure action plan and the instructions of the pupil’s licensed health care provider, that provides assistance or services under this article to a pupil shall not be liable in any criminal action or for civil damages in an individual, marital, governmental, corporate, or any other capacity as a result of providing that assistance or those services.
49468.9.
 The state board shall adopt regulations to implement this article.
SEC. 2.
 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.