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A BILL 1
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25-571 3
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 5
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8 9 To amend the Student Access to Treatment Act of 2007 to require the responsible person to create 10
and submit to the school a seizure action plan that is to be made part of the student’s file 11
and which shall be made available for school personnel and agents responsible for the 12
student, and to require the Department of Health to offer a voluntary seizure recognition 13
and first-aid response training for school personnel. 14
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 16
act may be cited as the “Seizure Safe Schools Amendment Act of 2024”. 17
Sec. 2. The Student Access to Treatment Act of 2007, effective February 2, 2008 (D.C. 18
Law 17-107; D.C. Official Code § 38-651.01 et seq. ), is amended as follows: 19
(a) Section 2 (D.C. Official Code § 38-651.01) is amended as follows: 20
(1) Paragraphs (5A) and (5B) are redesignated as paragraphs (5C) and (5D). 21
(2) New paragraphs (5A) and (5B) are added to read as follows: 22
“(5A) “Seizure action plan” means a written, individualized health plan designed 23
to acknowledge and prepare for the health care needs of a student diagnosed with a seizure 24
disorder. 25
“(5B) “Seizure treatment” means seizure medication, a Vagus Nerve Stimulator 26
magnet, or other medical treatments prescribed by a physician for an individual diagnosed with a 27
seizure disorder. 28 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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(3) Paragraph (7A) is redesignated as paragraph (8). 29
(b) Section 3(a) (D.C. Official Code § 38-651.02(a)(1)) is amended as follows: 30
(1) The lead-in language is amended as follows: 31
(A) Strike the phrase “medication at” and insert the phrase “medication or 32
non-medication seizure treatment at” in its place. 33
(B) Strike the phrase “in order to treat asthma, anaphylaxis, or other 34
illness” and insert the phrase “in order to treat asthma, anaphylaxis, a seizure disorder, or other 35
illness” in its place. 36
(2) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the phrase “medication action plan” and 37
inserting the phrase “medication action plan or seizure action plan” in its place. 38
(c) A new section 4a is added to read as follows: 39
“Sec. 4a. Seizure action plan and training requirements. 40
“(a) The responsible person shall submit a seizure action plan to the school for a student 41
diagnosed with a seizure disorder. 42
“(b) A valid seizure action plan shall include: 43
“(1) A written statement or authorization, signed by the student’s health care 44
provider, that states: 45
“(A) The name of the student; 46
“(B) Emergency contact information for the responsible person, or, if the 47
student is 18 years of age or older, another adult suitable to serve as an emergency contact; 48 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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“(C) Contact information for the health care provider; 49
“(D) The name, purpose, and prescribed dosage of the seizure medication 50
prescribed to the student; 51
“(E) The method of administration for the seizure treatment; 52
“(F) The frequency that the seizure treatment is to be administered; 53
“(G) The symptoms necessitating administration of the seizure treatment; 54
“(H) The possible side effects of the seizure treatment as listed on the 55
label; 56
“(I) Special instructions or emergency procedures; and 57
“(J) In the case of self-administered seizure treatment , confirmation that 58
the student has been instructed in the proper technique of self-administration of the seizure 59
treatment and has demonstrated the ability to self-administer the seizure treatment effectively; 60
“(2) Written authorization, signed by the responsible person, that states: 61
“(A) A trained employee or agent of the school may administer seizure 62
treatment to the student in accordance with the student’s seizure action plan; 63
“(B) In the case of self-administration, the student may possess and self-64
administer the seizure treatment in accordance with the student’s seizure action plan; and 65
“(C) The name of the student and their seizure action plan may be 66
distributed to school staff or agents who may encounter the student during their time at school; 67
and 68 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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“(3) Written acknowledgment that the District, a school, or an employee or agent 69
of a school, who has received training in the administration of seizure treatment , shall be 70
immune from civil liability for the good-faith performance of responsibilities under this act ; 71
except, that no immunity shall extend to criminal acts, intentional wrongdoing, gross negligence, 72
or wanton or willful misconduct. 73
“(c) Any school staff or agent who receives personally identifiable health information 74
through a seizure action plan pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall keep this information 75
confidential. 76
“(d) Beginning on June 1, 2025, the Department of Health shall offer a voluntary training 77
on seizure awareness at least 3 times during each school year for school personnel and agents, 78
which shall include recognition of the signs and symptoms of seizures and the appropriate steps 79
to be taken to respond to those symptoms. 80
“(e) Schools shall notify, at a minimum, all school personnel with direct contact with 81
students with seizure action plans of the availability of the training offered under subsection (d) 82
of this section and authorize personnel to attend this training.”. 83
(d) Section 6 (D.C. Official Code § 38-651.05) is amended as follows: 84
(1) The existing language is designated as subsection (a) 85
(2) A new subsection (b) is added to read as follows: 86 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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“(b)(1) An employee or agent trained pursuant to rules promulgated by the Mayor may 87
administer a seizure treatment to a student with a valid seizure action plan; provided, that the 88
responsible person has delivered the seizure treatment to be administered to the school. 89
“(2) A trained employee or agent need not be certified in order to administer 90
seizure treatment .”. 91
(e) Section 9 (D.C. Official Code § 38-651.08) is amended as follows: 92
(1) Subsection (a) is amended by striking the phrase “medication action plans” 93
and inserting the phrase “medication action plans or seizure action plans” in its place. 94
(2) Subsection (b) is amended by striking the phrase “medication action plans,” 95
and inserting the phrase “medication action plans or seizure action plans,” in its place. 96
(3) Subsection (d) is amended by striking the phrase “medication was 97
administered” and inserting the phrase “medication or seizure treatment was administered” in its 98
place. 99
(f) Section 10(b) (D.C. Official Code § 38- 651.09(b) ) is amended as follows: 100
(1) Paragraph (1) is amended to read as follows: 101
“(b)(1) A school may receive medication or seizure treatment to store for the 102
treatment of asthma, anaphylaxis, a seizure disorder, or other illness from the responsible person 103
for a student with a valid medication action plan or seizure action plan .”. 104
(2) Paragraph (2) is amended by striking the word “medication” and inserting the 105
phrase “medication or seizure treatment” in its place. 106 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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(3) A new paragraph (4) is added to read as follows: 107
“(4) For a student with a seizure action plan, this subsection shall apply to any 108
seizure treatment, including a Vagus Nerve Stimulator magnet.”. 109
(g) Section 11(a) (D.C. Official Code § 38- 651.10(a)) is amended by striking the phrase 110
“medication action plan” and inserting the phrase “medication action plan or seizure action plan” 111
in its place. 112
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 113
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 114
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 115
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1- 301.47a). 116
Sec. 4. Effective date. 117
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 118
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30- day period of congressional review as 119
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 120
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1- 206.02(c)(1)). 121