ENROLLED
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 185
BY REPRESENTATIVE THIBAUT
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request each nonpublic school approved by the State Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education to consider storing auto-injectable epinephrine in the school
office for use in cases of emergency and to adopt policies and procedures for such
use.
WHEREAS, current law, R.S. 17:436.1(K), requires the governing authority of each
public elementary and secondary school to adopt a policy authorizing a school nurse or
trained school employee to administer auto-injectable epinephrine to a student who the
school nurse or trained school employee, in good faith, professionally believes is having an
anaphylactic reaction, whether or not such student has a prescription for epinephrine; and
WHEREAS, the law defines auto-injectable epinephrine as a medical device for the
immediate self-administration of epinephrine by a person at risk for anaphylaxis; and
WHEREAS, the law further requires that at least one employee at each public school
receive training from a registered nurse or a licensed medical physician in the administration
of auto-injectable epinephrine and authorizes the school nurse or trained employee to
administer the auto-injectable epinephrine to respond to a student's anaphylactic reaction
under a standing protocol from a physician licensed to practice medicine in the state; and
WHEREAS, the law permits each public elementary and secondary school to
maintain a supply of auto-injectable epinephrine at the school in a locked, secure, and easily
accessible location and further provides that a licensed physician may prescribe epinephrine
auto-injectors in the name of the school system or the individual school to be maintained for
use when deemed necessary; and
WHEREAS, according to the results of a national survey of over five thousand
schools, close to one thousand anaphylactic episodes occurred in those schools in 2014; and
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WHEREAS, in twenty-two percent of those cases, anaphylaxis occurred in students
and teachers with no known allergies; and
WHEREAS, access to epinephrine is important because it is the only first-line
treatment for anaphylaxis; and
WHEREAS, according to the food allergy guidelines developed by the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, if experiencing anaphylaxis, a person should
use an epinephrine auto-injector and seek immediate emergency medical care; and
WHEREAS, because state law provides for the use of auto-injectable epinephrine in
public schools in cases of emergency, it seems reasonable that the same should apply in
nonpublic schools.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request each nonpublic school that is
approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to consider storing
auto-injectable epinephrine in the school office for use in cases of emergency and to adopt
a policy to provide for the storage, use, and administration of such device.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution shall be provided to
the state superintendent of education who shall be responsible for disseminating copies of
this Resolution to each state-approved nonpublic school.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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