Regular Session 2021-2022 House Bill 2155 P.N. 2502

PRINTER'S NO. 2502

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

2155

Session of

2021

INTRODUCED BY LEWIS, HILL-EVANS, RYAN, PISCIOTTANO, FREEMAN,

SOLOMON, R. BROWN, KENYATTA, BOBACK, ROWE, WEBSTER, ISAACSON,

DELLOSO, THOMAS, SAYLOR, CIRESI, ZIMMERMAN, NEILSON,

SCHWEYER, HOHENSTEIN, M. MACKENZIE, D. MILLER AND MERSKI,

DECEMBER 10, 2021

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, DECEMBER 10, 2021

AN ACT

Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An

act relating to the public school system, including certain

provisions applicable as well to private and parochial

schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the

laws relating thereto," in school health services, providing

for school access to bronchodilators.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known

as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding a

section to read:

Section 1414.11. School Access to Bronchodilators.--(a) In

accordance with this section, a school entity may authorize a

school nurse or trained school employe to do any of the

following:

(1) Provide a bronchodilator that meets the prescription on

file for a student or the school entity to the student who is

authorized to self-administer the bronchodilator.

(2) Administer a bronchodilator that meets the prescription

on file for a student or the school entity to the student who

the school nurse or trained school employe believes in good

faith is experiencing an asthma episode or respiratory distress.

(b) Notwithstanding section 11 of the act of April 14, 1972

(P.L.233, No.64), known as "The Controlled Substance, Drug,

Device and Cosmetic Act," a physician or certified registered

nurse practitioner may prescribe a bronchodilator in the name of

the school entity for purposes specified under this section.

including a device or device component necessary to

appropriately administer the bronchodilator, shall be dispensed

from a licensed pharmacy or manufacturer.

(d) A school entity may, with a valid prescription under

subsection (b), accept a donated bronchodilator, including a

device or device component necessary to appropriately administer

the bronchodilator. The school entity may seek and apply for

funding, including Federal, State, local or private grants, to

purchase a bronchodilator, including a device or device

component necessary to properly administer the bronchodilator.

(e) A physician or certified registered nurse practitioner

may refill any used or expired prescription for a bronchodilator

in the name of a school entity. The school entity shall maintain

the prescription for the bronchodilator as deemed necessary by

the school entity for the purposes specified under this section.

(f) A school entity shall discard an expired bronchodilator

in accordance with the school entity's standard protocols and

the manufacturer's instructions.

(g) A school entity shall maintain a supply of

bronchodilators at a school in a secure, unlocked and easily

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accessible location. The location shall be disclosed to a school

nurse and the trained employe that is designated to administer a

bronchodilator when the school nurse is not available.

(h) A school entity may designate no less than two

individuals, including a school nurse and trained employe, at

each school who shall be responsible for the storage and

administration of a bronchodilator. Each school shall appoint no

less than one trained school employe to administer the school

entity's supply of bronchodilators when the school nurse is not

available.

(i) A school nurse or trained employe who is responsible for

the storage and administration of a bronchodilator under

subsection (h) shall successfully complete an annual training

course on the administration of a bronchodilator as designated

by the Department of Health.

(j) The following shall apply to the administration of a

school entity's supply of bronchodilators:

(1) A bronchodilator that meets the prescription on file for

a student or the school entity may be provided to and used by

the student who is authorized to self-administer the

bronchodilator or may be administered to the student by a school

nurse or trained school employe.

(2) When a student has not been diagnosed with asthma and

does not have a bronchodilator or a prescription for a

bronchodilator on file, a school nurse or trained school employe

may use a bronchodilator to respond to the student's respiratory

distress under a standing protocol from a physician or certified

registered nurse practitioner in accordance with this section.

(3) When a student has been diagnosed with asthma and the

student's personal bronchodilator is empty or temporarily

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unavailable, a school nurse or a trained school employe may

administer a bronchodilator to respond to the student's asthma

episode or respiratory distress if all of the following apply:

(i) The student's parent or guardian has provided written

permission to the school entity for the student to be

administered a bronchodilator during the school year. The

student's parent or guardian may include the written permission

with a written request under section 1414.1(c)(2).

(ii) The student's parent or guardian has signed a statement

relieving the school entity and the school entity's employes and

agents, including a physician or certified registered nurse

practitioner who prescribes a bronchodilator, of any liability,

except in the case of gross negligence, as a result of an injury

arising from the administration of a bronchodilator.

(iii) The school entity has informed the student's parent or

guardian, in writing, that the school entity and the school

entity's employes and agents, including a physician or certified

registered nurse practitioner who prescribes a bronchodilator,

will not incur any liability, except in the case of gross

negligence, as a result of injury arising from the

administration of a bronchodilator.

(iv) The school entity has informed the student's parent or

guardian, in writing, that a bronchodilator is not to be used as

a replacement for a student bringing a prescribed asthma

medication to school.

(4) A metered dose inhaler shall be used with a valved

holding chamber or disposable mouthpiece to mitigate the spread

of disease during the administration of a bronchodilator under

this section. After the use of a valved holding chamber, under

this clause, a school nurse or trained employe shall, as per

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manufacturer instructions, dispose of the disposable mouthpiece

or sanitize the valved holding chamber.

(k) A school entity shall implement a reporting system to

notify a student's parent or guardian and health care

practitioner when a bronchodilator has been used by the student

at a school. The school entity may implement a recording system

to document each instance when a bronchodilator has been used by

a student and who administered the bronchodilator. If a

student's respiratory distress or asthma episode does not

improve, a school nurse or trained school employe shall contact

911 as soon as possible.

(l) The provisions of 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 8332 (relating to

emergency response provider and bystander good Samaritan civil

immunity) and 8337.1 (relating to civil immunity of school

officers or employees relating to emergency care, first aid and

rescue) shall apply to a school nurse or trained employe who

administers a bronchodilator and a physician or certified

registered nurse practitioner who prescribes a bronchodilator to

a school entity under this section.

(m) Administration of a bronchodilator under this section

shall comply with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

(Public Law 93-112, 29 U.S.C. § 794) and 22 Pa. Code Ch. 15

(relating to protected handicapped students).

(n) As used in this section--

"Asthma" means a chronic lung disease that inflames and

narrows the airways and causes recurring periods of wheezing,

chest tightness, shortness of breath and coughing. The term

includes reactive airway disease.

"Bronchodilator" means a medication used for the quick relief

of asthma symptoms that dilates the airways and is recommended

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by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's National

Asthma Education and Prevention Program Guidelines for the

Treatment of Asthma 2007 (EPR-3), including the 2020 Focused

Updates to Asthma Management Guidelines (December 2020). The

term includes an inhaled medication that contains a premeasured

single dose of albuterol or albuterol sulfate or by a pressured

metered dose inhaler with a valved holding chamber to treat

respiratory distress or asthma symptoms.

"Respiratory distress" means the perceived or actual presence

of wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, chest tightness,

breathing difficulty or any other symptoms consistent with

asthma.

"School entity" means a school district, intermediate unit,

charter school, cyber charter school, regional charter school or

area career and technical school.

"Trained school employe" means a school employe who has

successfully completed an annual training course on the storage

and administration of a bronchodilator under subsection (i).

Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

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