BILL NUMBER: SB 1051	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Huff

                        FEBRUARY 16, 2010

   An act to add Section 49414.7 to the Education Code, relating to
pupil health.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1051, as introduced, Huff. Emergency medical assistance:
administration of diastat.
   Existing law provides that in the absence of a credentialed school
nurse or other licensed nurse onsite at the school, a school
district is authorized to provide school personnel with voluntary
medical training to provide emergency medical assistance to pupils
with diabetes suffering from severe hypoglycemia.
   This bill would authorize a school district, in the absence of a
credentialed school nurse or other licensed nurse onsite at the
school, to provide school employees with voluntary emergency medical
training to provide emergency medical assistance to pupils with
epilepsy suffering from seizures in accordance with performance
standards developed by specified entities. The bill would require the
State Department of Public Health to approve the performance
standards for distribution and make the standards available upon
request.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that all
individuals with exceptional needs have a right to participate in a
free appropriate public education, and that special instruction and
services for these individuals are needed in order to ensure they
have the right to an appropriate educational opportunity to meet
their unique needs in compliance with the federal Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.).
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that individuals with
exceptional needs and children with disabilities under the federal
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et
seq.) and Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. Sec. 794) shall have a right to an appropriate educational
opportunity to meet their unique needs, and that children suffering
from seizures due to epilepsy have the right to appropriate programs
and services that are designed to meet their unique needs. In order
to meet that goal, it is the intent of the Legislature to authorize
nurses to train and supervise employees of school districts and
county offices of education to administer diastat to children with
epilepsy in the public schools. The American Academy of Pediatrics
and the Epilepsy Foundation of America support training of school
employees to administer diastat and believe that diastat may be
safely and effectively administered by trained school employees. The
Legislature further finds and declares that it is in the best
interest of the health and safety of children to allow trained school
employees to administer diastat to pupils in public schools.
  SEC. 2.  Section 49414.7 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   49414.7.  (a) In the absence of a credentialed school nurse or
other licensed nurse onsite at the school, a school district may
provide school employees with voluntary emergency medical training to
provide emergency medical assistance to pupils with epilepsy
suffering from seizures. A school employee with voluntary emergency
medical training shall provide this emergency medical assistance in
accordance with the standards established pursuant to subdivision
(b), and the performance instructions set forth by the licensed
health care provider of the pupil. A school employee who does not
volunteer or who has not been trained pursuant to subdivision (b)
shall not be required to provide emergency medical assistance
pursuant to this section.
   (b) (1) The Legislature encourages the Epilepsy Foundation of
America to develop performance standards for the training and
supervision of school employees in providing emergency medical
assistance to pupils with epilepsy suffering from seizures. The
performance standards may be developed in cooperation with the State
Department of Education, the California School Nurses Organization,
the California Medical Association, and the American Academy of
Pediatrics. Upon development of the performance standards, the State
Department of Public Health shall approve the performance standards
for distribution and make those standards available upon request.
   (2) Training established pursuant to this subdivision shall
include all of the following:
   (A) Recognition and treatment of epilepsy.
   (B) Administration of diastat.
   (C) Basic emergency followup procedures including, but not limited
to, calling the emergency 911 phone number and, if possible,
contacting the pupil's parent or guardian and his or her licensed
health care provider.
   (3) Training by a physician and surgeon, credentialed school
nurse, registered nurse, or certificated public health nurse in
accordance with the performance standards established pursuant to
this section shall be deemed adequate training for the purpose of
this section.
   (4) (A) A school employee shall notify the credentialed school
nurse assigned to the school district if he or she administers
diastat pursuant to this section.
   (B) If a credentialed school nurse is not assigned to the school
district, the school employee shall notify the superintendent of the
school district, or his or her designee, if he or she administers
diastat pursuant to this section.
   (5) All materials necessary to administer the diastat shall be
provided by the pupil's parent or guardian.
   (c) For purposes of this section, "diastat" means diazepam rectal
gel, marketed as Diastat AcuDial, approved by the federal Food and
Drug Administration for patients with epilepsy to control seizures.