HF 575 (LSB 2665YH (4) 88)

HOUSE FILE 575

BY  SORENSEN

A BILL FOR

An Act providing for training and other procedures relating to student seizures for public and accredited nonpublic schools. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  280.16B  Student seizure training and response —— administration of medication.
   1.  For purposes of this section:
   a.  “Licensed health care professional” means the same as provided in section 280.16. 
   b.  “Seizure action plan” means a written, individualized health plan designed to acknowledge and prepare for the health care needs of a student diagnosed with a seizure disorder.
   c.  “Seizure medication” means medication approved by the United States food and drug administration or any successor agency and prescribed to a student by a licensed health care professional to treat seizure disorder symptoms, including medication to be administered on an emergency basis. 
   2.  The board of directors of a school district and the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school shall have at least one employee at each attendance center who has received instruction on administering or assisting with the self-administration of seizure medication.
   3.  Instruction pursuant to subsection 2 shall include instruction on administering seizure medication and recognizing the signs and symptoms of seizures and the appropriate steps to be taken to respond to such signs and symptoms. Such instruction shall be fully consistent with training programs developed by the epilepsy foundation of America or any successor organization.
   4.  The parent or guardian of a student prescribed seizure medication shall do all of the following to enable a school employee to administer seizure medication to or assist with the self-administration of seizure medication by the student:
   a.  Provides the school district or school each school year with a written authorization in a form prescribed by the school district or school to administer the medication at an attendance center or other school function.
   b.  Provides the school district or school each school year with a written statement from a licensed health care professional that contains all of the following information:
   (1)  The student’s name.
   (2)  The name and purpose of the medication.
   (3)  The prescribed dosage of the medication.
   (4)  The route of administration of the medication.
   (5)  The frequency that the medication may be administered.
   (6)  The circumstances under which the medication may be administered.
   c.  Provides the seizure medication to the school district or school in its unopened, sealed package with the label affixed by the dispensing pharmacy intact and replaces the seizure medication upon depletion or expiration.
   d.  Collaborates with school district or school personnel to create a seizure action plan for the student.
   5.  The school district or school shall keep the written statements and seizure action plan pursuant to subsection 4, paragraphs “a” and “b”, on file. The school district or school shall distribute the seizure action plan to any school personnel or volunteers responsible for the supervision or care of the student.
   6.  Every school district or school shall provide an age-appropriate seizure education program to all students on seizures and seizure disorders. The program shall be consistent with guidelines published by the epilepsy foundation of America or any successor organization.
   7.  The board of directors of a school district and the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school shall require a minimum of one hour of self-study review of training materials on recognition of and appropriate response to seizure disorders by each principal, guidance counselor, and teacher each school year.
   8.  The department of education, in consultation with the board of medicine, the board of nursing, and the board of physician assistants, shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer this section, including but not limited to rules establishing standards for the development and content of seizure action plans, content for instruction required pursuant to subsection 2, and content for self-study review pursuant to subsection 7.
    Sec. 2.  STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED.  In accordance with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid received by the school district under section 257.16. This specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed to meet all of the state funding-related requirements of section 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding shall be necessary for the full implementation of this Act by and enforcement of this Act against all affected school districts.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill requires school boards and authorities in charge of accredited nonpublic schools to have at least one employee at each attendance center who has received instruction on administering or assisting with the self-administration of seizure medication.
   Such instruction shall include instruction on administering seizure medication and recognizing the signs and symptoms of seizures and the appropriate steps to be taken to respond to such signs and symptoms and shall be fully consistent with training programs developed by the epilepsy foundation of America or any successor organization.
   The bill defines “seizure medication” as medication approved by the United States food and drug administration or any successor agency and prescribed to a student by a licensed health care professional to treat seizure disorder symptoms, including medication to be administered on an emergency basis.
   The bill requires the parent or guardian of a student prescribed seizure medication to take actions specified in the bill to enable a school employee to administer seizure medication to or assist with the self-administration of seizure medication by the student. 
   The parent or guardian must provide the school district or school each school year with a written authorization to administer the medication at an attendance center or other school function. The parent or guardian must provide the school district or school each school year with a written statement from a licensed health care professional that contains specified information about the student’s seizure medication. The parent or guardian must provide the seizure medication to the school district or school in its unopened, sealed package with the label affixed by the dispensing pharmacy intact and replace the seizure medication upon depletion or expiration. The parent or guardian must collaborate with school district or school personnel to create a seizure action plan for the student. The bill defines “seizure action plan” as a written, individualized health plan designed to acknowledge and prepare for the health care needs of a student diagnosed with a seizure disorder. The school district or school is required to distribute the seizure action plan to any school personnel or volunteers responsible for the supervision or care of the student.
   The bill requires every school district and accredited nonpublic school to provide an age-appropriate seizure education program to all students on seizures and seizure disorders. The program shall be consistent with guidelines published by the epilepsy foundation of America or any successor organization.
   The bill requires school boards and authorities in charge of accredited nonpublic schools to require a minimum of one hour of self-study review of training materials on recognition of and appropriate response to seizure disorders by each principal, guidance counselor, and teacher each school year.
   The bill requires the department of education, in consultation with the board of medicine, the board of nursing, and the board of physician assistants, to adopt rules to administer the bill. 
   The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of any state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid received by the school district under Code section 257.16. The specification is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state mandate funding-related requirements of Code section 25B.2. The inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate the requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any state mandates included in the bill.