Several bills pending before the Pennsylvania General Assembly are meant to assist school administrators and school nurses. With the exception of one, all of the following bills have been passed by the Pennsylvania House with bipartisan support. They are currently awaiting Senate approval.
HB 1084 / Ensuring Lifesaving Asthma Medication is Available for Students
House Bill No. 1084 (“HB 1084”) would allow Pennsylvania schools to stock asthma medications or inhalers in their buildings for children experiencing asthma attacks or respiratory distress in schools. By providing easier access to such medications, students will be able to immediately return to their learning environment, increasing both educational and health outcomes in Pennsylvania Schools.
HB 1084 would amend the Pennsylvania Public School Code (the “School Code”) to permit a school nurse or trained school employee to (1) provide a bronchodilator, that meets the prescription on file for a student, to the student to self-administer, and/or (2) administer a bronchodilator that meets the prescription on file for a student.
As of June 3, 2024, voting on HB 1084 has been postponed and may be considered at a later date.
HB 1367 / Mental Health Training for Coaches
Creating a “game plan” to provide student athletes and coaches with resources and training on mental health, HB 1367 would also amend the School Code to require coaches to take a mental health training course that must be approved by the Department of Health.
Specifically, the Bill would:
(1) Direct the Pennsylvania Department of Education (“PDE”) to revise standards for health, safety, and physical education to address student mental health awareness;
(2) Task PDE and the Pennsylvania Department of Health with identifying model curriculum on mental health awareness;
(3) Require schools to notify students and their parents, athletic staff and extracurricular advisers of available mental health services twice each school year;
(4) Require Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) to include student mental health awareness in its training starting year 2025-2026
(5) Direct the school entity’s student assistance program to provide information on mental health services to a student’s parent when the student’s participation in a school-sponsored athletic or extracurricular activity is interrupted.
As of June 7, 2024, HB 1367 has been referred to the Senate after being passed by the House.
HB 1685 / Requiring AEDs at Athletic Events
House Bill No. 1685 (“HB 1685”) would require the presence of at least one automated external defibrillator (“AED”) at all interscholastic events and for all Pennsylvania public and nonpublic schools to develop and implement an emergency action plan to respond to sudden cardiac events.
The Bill’s primary stipulations include:
(1) All public schools would be required to have at least one (1) AED in each school building and available to each athletic activity, and to have at least one (1) individual who is trained and certified in the use of an AED and CPR in the building during each school day.
(2) Purchase of AEDs would be considered an eligible school safety expense.
(3) Schools would be able to accept donations to obtain AEDs. PDE would be able to accept donations and equipment and distribute them to schools for use in AED instruction.
(4) Employees required to receive instruction would include a school nurse or designee, athletic coach, marching band director, physical education teacher, athletic trainer, and athletic training aide.
As of July 12, 2024, HB 1685 has been referred to the Senate after passage in the House by a bipartisan vote of 157-45.
HB 1990 / School Professional Seizure Recognition and First Aid Training
Also referred to the Senate on July 12, 2024, is House Bill No. 1990 (“HB 1990”). which intends to protect the safety of students by requiring that every school have a trained individual on staff who can respond during a medical emergency. HB 1990 would amend the School Code to require school nurses AND a professional employee to complete a Department of Health-approved online course of instruction or in-person training regarding the management of a student with seizures and how to recognize symptoms of seizures. By requiring completion of training, serious consequences arising from improper or untrained responses to epileptic episodes can be mitigated.
HB 2185 / Type 1 Diabetes Education Parental Notification
House Bill No. 2185 (“HB 2185”) directs the Pennsylvania Department of Health to develop and distribute informational materials to parents and guardians about the warning signs of Type-1 Diabetes.
If passed, HB 2185 would amend the School Code and require that the aforementioned informational materials include a description of Type 1 Diabetes as well as risk factors and warning signs associated with Type 1 Diabetes; a recommendation that a parent or guardian of a student displaying warning signs associated with Type 1 Diabetes immediately consult with the student’s primary care provider to determine if immediate screening for Type 1 Diabetes is appropriate; a description of the screening process for Type 1 Diabetes, the significance of its stages and the implications of test results identifying the presence of stage 1, stage 2, and stage 3 Type 1 Diabetes; and a recommendation that a parent or guardian of a student who has been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes should consult with the student’s primary care provider to develop an appropriate treatment plan which may include consultation with and examination by a specialty care provider, including a properly qualified endocrinologist.
HB 2185 would also require that all public and nonpublic schools make the informational materials publicly available in writing or on their websites to parents or guardians when their children are enrolled in elementary school and again upon the student’s entry to sixth (6th) grade.
HB 2185 passed the House with bipartisan support of 182-20 votes. As of October 23, 2024, it has also passed the Senate and was presented to the Governor.
Bottom Line For Schools
While this recent spate of legislation enhances the student health and welfare mission of public schools, new laws also impose additional obligations on schools, compliance of which is critical not only to student welfare, but also to a school’s legal protection. KingSpry’s Education Law Practice Group will continue tracking the pending bills and provide updates as appropriate.
