Anaphylaxis med. in schools

AN ACT Relating to anaphylaxis medications in schools; and 1
amending RCW 28A.210.383 and 28A.210.380. 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
Sec. 1. RCW 28A.210.383 and 2024 c 81 s 2 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
(1) School districts and ((nonpublic)) private schools may 6
maintain at a school in a designated location a supply of epinephrine 7
((and)), including epinephrine autoinjectors, based on the number of 8
students enrolled in the school. 9
(2)(a) A licensed health professional with the authority to 10
prescribe epinephrine, including, but not limited to, the secretary 11
of health or the secretary's designee in accordance with RCW 12
43.70.827, may prescribe epinephrine, including epinephrine 13
autoinjectors, in the name of the school district or school to be 14
maintained for use when necessary. Epinephrine prescriptions must be 15
accompanied by a standing order issued in accordance with this 16
section or RCW 43.70.827 for the administration of school-supplied, 17
undesignated epinephrine and epinephrine autoinjectors for 18
potentially life-threatening allergic reactions. 19
S-0537.1
SENATE BILL 5240
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Wellman, Slatter, Boehnke, Hasegawa, Nobles, Stanford,
Trudeau, and C. Wilson
Read first time 01/14/25. Referred to Committee on Early Learning &
K-12 Education.
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(b) There are no changes to current prescription or self-1
administration practices for children with existing epinephrine 2
autoinjector prescriptions or a guided anaphylaxis care plan.3
(c) Epinephrine and epinephrine autoinjectors may be obtained 4
from donation sources, but must be accompanied by a prescription.5
(3)(a) When a student has a prescription for ((an)) epinephrine 6
((autoinjector)) on file, the school nurse may utilize the school 7
district or school supply of epinephrine , authorized under subsection 8
(1) of this section, and the school nurse and the designated trained 9
school personnel may utilize the school district or school supply of 10
epinephrine ((autoinjectors)) or any available epinephrine on school 11
property to respond to an anaphylactic reaction under a standing 12
protocol according to RCW 28A.210.380. 13
(b) When a student does not have ((an)) epinephrine 14
((autoinjector)) or a prescription for ((an)) epinephrine 15
((autoinjector)) on file, the school nurse may utilize the school 16
district or school supply of epinephrine ((or epinephrine 17
autoinjectors)) authorized under subsection (1) of this section or 18
any available epinephrine on school property to respond to an 19
anaphylactic reaction under a standing protocol according to RCW 20
28A.210.380. 21
(c) In the event a school nurse or other school employee 22
administers any available epinephrine on school property, the school 23
district or private school must reimburse the cost of the epinephrine 24
to the owner if it is not school-owned epinephrine.25
(d) Epinephrine and epinephrine autoinjectors may be used on 26
school property, including the school building, playground, and 27
school bus, as well as during field trips or sanctioned excursions 28
away from school property. The school nurse or designated trained 29
school personnel may carry an appropriate supply of school-owned 30
epinephrine or epinephrine autoinjectors on field trips or 31
excursions. 32
(4)(a) If a student is injured or harmed due to the 33
administration of epinephrine that a licensed health professional 34
with prescribing authority has prescribed and a pharmacist has 35
dispensed to a school under this section, the licensed health 36
professional with prescribing authority and pharmacist may not be 37
held responsible for the injury unless he or she issued the 38
prescription with a conscious disregard for safety.39
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(b) In the event a school nurse or other school employee 1
administers epinephrine in substantial compliance with a student's 2
prescription that has been prescribed by a licensed health 3
professional within the scope of the professional's prescriptive 4
authority ((or)), by statewide standing order in accordance with RCW 5
43.70.827, if applicable, ((and)) or in substantial compliance with 6
the written policies of the school district or private school if the 7
policies are aligned with the standing protocol developed under RCW 8
28A.210.380, then the school employee, the employee's school district 9
or school of employment, and the members of the governing board and 10
chief administrator thereof are not liable in any criminal action or 11
for civil damages in their individual, marital, governmental, 12
corporate, or other capacity as a result of providing the 13
epinephrine. 14
(c) School employees, except those licensed under chapter 18.79 15
RCW, who have not agreed in writing to the use of epinephrine 16
autoinjectors as a specific part of their job description, may file 17
with the school district a written letter of refusal to use 18
epinephrine autoinjectors. This written letter of refusal may not 19
serve as grounds for discharge, nonrenewal of an employment contract, 20
or other action adversely affecting the employee's contract status.21
(5) This section governs school operation and management under 22
RCW 28A.710.040 and 28A.715.020 and applies to charter schools 23
established under chapter 28A.710 RCW and state-tribal education 24
compact schools subject to chapter 28A.715 RCW.25
Sec. 2. RCW 28A.210.380 and 2008 c 173 s 1 are each amended to 26
read as follows: 27
(1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction, in 28
consultation with the department of health, shall develop 29
anaphylactic policy guidelines for schools to prevent anaphylaxis and 30
deal with medical emergencies resulting from it. The policy 31
guidelines shall be developed with input from pediatricians, school 32
nurses, other health care providers, parents of children with life-33
threatening allergies, school administrators, teachers, and food 34
service directors. 35
The policy guidelines shall include, but need not be limited to:36
(a) A procedure for each school to follow to develop a treatment 37
plan including the responsibilities ((for [of])) of school nurses and 38
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other appropriate school personnel responsible for responding to a 1
student who may be experiencing anaphylaxis; 2
(b)(i) The content of a training course for appropriate school 3
personnel for preventing and responding to a student who may be 4
experiencing anaphylaxis; 5
(ii) The entity that conducts the training shall issue a 6
certificate, on a form developed or approved by the department of 7
health, to each person who successfully completes the anaphylaxis 8
training program, and this form must be kept on file at the school;9
(c) A procedure for the development of an individualized 10
emergency health care plan for children with food or other allergies 11
that could result in anaphylaxis; 12
(d) A communication plan for the school to follow to gather and 13
disseminate information on students with food or other allergies who 14
may experience anaphylaxis; 15
(e) Strategies for reduction of the risk of exposure to 16
anaphylactic causative agents including food and other allergens.17
(2) For the purpose of this section "anaphylaxis" means a severe 18
allergic and life -threatening reaction that is a collection of 19
symptoms, which may include breathing difficulties and a drop in 20
blood pressure or shock. 21
(3)(((a) By October 15, 2008, the superintendent of public 22
instruction shall report to the select interim legislative task force 23
on comprehensive school health reform created in section 6, chapter 24
5, Laws of 2007, on the following:25
(i) The implementation within school districts of the 2008 26
guidelines for care of students with life-threatening food allergies 27
developed by the superintendent pursuant to section 501, chapter 522, 28
Laws of 2007, including a review of policies developed by the school 29
districts, the training provided to school personnel, and plans for 30
follow-up monitoring of policy implementation; and31
(ii) Recommendations on requirements for effectively implementing 32
the school anaphylactic policy guidelines developed under this 33
section.34
(b) By March 31, 2009, the superintendent of public instruction 35
shall report policy guidelines to the appropriate committees of the 36
legislature and to school districts for the districts to use to 37
develop and adopt their policies.38
(4))) By September 1, 2009, each school district shall use the 39
guidelines developed under subsection (1) of this section to develop 40
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and adopt a school district policy for each school in the district to 1
follow to assist schools to prevent anaphylaxis. 2
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