Sponsored by:
Senator ANTHONY M. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Diegnan
SYNOPSIS
Requires school districts to maintain supply of nasal rescue medication and oxygen for seizure emergencies; provides for training of designees to administer nasal rescue medication and oxygen when school nurse is not physically present.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the availability of nasal rescue medication and oxygen for seizure emergencies in schools and supplementing P.L.2019, c.290 (C.18A:40-12.34 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As part of the implementation of a seizure action plan submitted pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2019, c.290 (C.18A:40-12.35), each school district shall maintain a supply of diazepam nasal spray, midazolam nasal spray, and other similar nasal rescue medications approved for seizures and identified in a seizure action plan submitted to the school district, as prescribed under a standing protocol from a licensed physician or an advanced practice nurse, and portable oxygen delivery devices in secure but unlocked locations easily accessible by the school nurse and trained designees throughout each school building to ensure prompt availability in the event of a seizure emergency during school hours and at any other time when a school-sponsored function is taking place on the premises of a school building. The school nurse shall be responsible for designating locations throughout the building where such nasal rescue medication and oxygen delivery devices shall be placed.
b. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the use of portable oxygen delivery devices by a school nurse or trained designees to respond to other medical emergencies that may occur during school hours or when a school-sponsored function is taking place on the premises of a school building.
2. a. The school nurse of each school building shall have the primary responsibility for administration of nasal rescue medications and oxygen maintained pursuant to subsection a. of section 1 of P.L. ,c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The school nurse shall designate, in consultation with the board of education, additional employees of the school district who volunteer to administer nasal rescue medication and oxygen to a student when the nurse is not physically present at the scene of a seizure emergency. The school nurse shall determine that:
(1) the designees have been properly trained in the administration of nasal rescue medication and oxygen using standardized training protocols established by the Department of Education in consultation with the Department of Health;
(2) the parents or guardians of the student consent in writing to the administration of nasal rescue medication and oxygen by the designees;
(3) the board of education informs the parents or guardians of the student in writing that the district and its employees or agents shall have no liability as a result of any injury arising from the administration of nasal rescue medication and oxygen to the student;
(4) the parents or guardians of the student sign a statement acknowledging their understanding that the district shall have no liability as a result of any injury arising from the administration of nasal rescue medication and oxygen to the student and that the parents or guardians shall indemnify and hold harmless the district and its employees or agents against any claims arising out of the administration of nasal rescue medication and oxygen to the student; and
(5) the permission is effective for the school year for which it is granted and is renewed for each subsequent school year upon fulfillment of the requirements in paragraphs (1) through (4) of this subsection.
b. In establishing standardized training protocols pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the Department of Education and the Department of Health shall consult with the New Jersey School Nurses Association. Training protocols developed by the departments shall be distributed to school districts at the beginning of each school year and updated as needed.
3. The Department of Education shall provide for the reimbursement of the costs incurred by school districts in implementing section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The department shall establish procedures by which a school district may apply for reimbursement pursuant to this section. The department is authorized to accept contributions of funds from private or nonprofit entities in order to defray the expenses of the State in reimbursing school districts pursuant to this section.
4. This act shall take effect on the 90th day after enactment, but the Commissioner of Education may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance as necessary for the timely implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires a school district, as part of the implementation of a seizure action plan, to maintain a supply of diazepam nasal spray, midazolam nasal spray, and any other similar nasal rescue medication approved for seizures and identified in a seizure action plan submitted to the school district, as prescribed under a standing protocol from a licensed physician or an advanced practice nurse and portable oxygen delivery devices in secure but unlocked locations easily accessible by the school nurse and trained designees throughout each school building to ensure prompt availability in the event of a seizure emergency during school hours and at any other time when a school-sponsored event is taking place on the premises of a school building. The school nurse of each school building would be responsible for designating locations where such nasal rescue medication and oxygen delivery devices would be placed. Nothing in this bill would be construed to prohibit the use of portable oxygen delivery devices to respond to other medical emergencies that may occur during school hours or when a school-sponsored function is taking place on the premises of a school building. The school nurse would have the primary responsibility for administering nasal rescue medication and oxygen but would be able to designate, in consultation with the board of education, additional employees to administer nasal rescue medication to a studen