BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 1258 (Huff) - Pupil health: food allergies: local
educational agency policy
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|Version: April 21, 2016 |Policy Vote: HEALTH 9 - 0, ED. |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: May 16, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill requires each local educational agency (LEA)
to develop and have in place, beginning with the 2017-18 school
year, a comprehensive policy to protect students with food
allergies.
Fiscal
Impact:
One-time reimbursable state mandate costs to create the
required policies in coordination with specific individuals
potentially in the low millions. Significant cost pressures
to LEAs to implement the policies which could also potentially
be interpreted to be a reimbursable state mandate by the
Commission on State Mandates. To the extent the Commission
determines the requirements of this bill to be a reimbursable
state mandate, it would create pressure to increase the K-12
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mandate block grant. (Proposition 98)
The California Department of Education (CDE) cites minimal
costs to provide technical assistance. (General Fund)
Background: Existing law:
Requires LEAs to provide emergency epinephrine auto-injectors
to school nurses or trained personnel who have volunteered,
and authorizes school nurses or trained personnel to use the
epinephrine auto-injectors to provide emergency medical aid to
a person suffering from an anaphylactic reaction. (Education
Code § 49414)
Authorizes students to carry and self-administer prescribed
inhaled asthma or auto-injectable epinephrine medication while
at school. (EC § 49423 and § 49423.1)
Authorizes, in the absence of a credentialed school nurse or
other licensed nurse onsite at the school, non-medical school
personnel to administer medication to a pupil in an emergency,
after receiving specified training.
o Glucagon may be administered to students with
diabetes suffering
from severe hypoglycemia. (EC § 49414.5)
o Emergency anti-seizure medication may be
administered to students with epilepsy suffering from
seizures. (EC § 49414.7)
Federal law requires schools to provide substitutions or
modifications in the National School Lunch Program and School
Breakfast Program for students whose disabilities restrict their
diets (e.g. the food allergy or food intolerance substantially
limits one or more major life activities). Schools are
authorized to provide special meals and/or accommodations for
students who do not have a disability that requires a restricted
diet but who do have a food intolerance or other medication
condition.
According to the author's office, these policies will help
ensure the safety for the student, provide clear direction to
teachers, and ease liability for the district. This bill builds
upon the author's previous legislation, SB 1266 (Chapter 321,
SB 1258 (Huff) Page 2 of
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Statutes of 2014), requiring extra epinephrine injectors to be
in public schools in case of emergencies.
Proposed Law:
This bill requires each LEA to develop and have in place,
beginning with the 2017-18 school year, a comprehensive policy
to protect students with food allergies. LEAs must develop the
plan in coordination with certain individuals, including, a
school nurse or designated health personnel, a parent of a child
with a food allergy, and a director of food services. Protocols
for students with food allergies must at a minimum include the
following topics:
School stocking of medication, including storage of medication
in classrooms;
School parties;
Lunch time, including seating arrangements;
Food served by the LEA;
After school events;
Field trips;
Bullying;
Recess; and
Teacher and employee training.
Staff
Comments: This bill creates a reimbursable state mandate for
all LEAs to develop a policy to protect students with food
allergies, in coordination with certain individuals. Assuming
one director of food service, one school nurse, and one teacher,
together at a rate of $165 per hour including benefits, spending
10 to 20 hours developing the required policy and consulting
with parents, one-time reimbursable costs would be between $1.6
million and $3.3 million for all school districts and county
offices of education. Actual costs would vary by district and
county. Even though some LEAs may already have policies in
place, they could also submit a claim for reimbursement for any
costs related to changing the policy to comply with the
requirements of this bill. To the extent LEAs take advantage of
model policies currently available, this could reduce the staff
time needed to develop their own policies. Charter schools
would also incur similar costs but are not eligible for
reimbursement.
The Commission on State Mandates has addressed a related
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reimbursable mandate, called the Comprehensive School Safety
Plan II. School districts and county offices of education are
required to develop and update policies covering a number of
topics ranging from bullying to disaster preparedness. Costs
incurred by LEAs to implement this mandate have historically
been between $3 million and $4 million.
Though creating and updating the safety plans are reimbursable
mandated activities, the Commission found that the test claim
statutes did not require school sites or school districts to
implement their safety plans. This bill does not appear to
specifically require implementation of the policies developed by
the LEA and therefore might also not be eligible for
reimbursement. However, there is certainly a local cost
pressure to implement the developed food allergy policies.
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