| 1 | 1 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4420 |
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| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 3 | 3 | | ________________________________________ |
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| 4 | 4 | | HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, February 26, 2024. |
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| 5 | 5 | | The committee on Education, to whom were referred the petition |
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| 6 | 6 | | (accompanied by bill, House, No. 490) of Kenneth I. Gordon and Natalie |
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| 7 | 7 | | M. Higgins relative to emergency stock supply of epinephrine in schools, |
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| 8 | 8 | | the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 507) of Bradley H. Jones, |
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| 9 | 9 | | Jr., and others that schools be required to maintain non-patient specific |
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| 10 | 10 | | epinephrine auto-injectors to be used in the event of anaphylactic |
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| 11 | 11 | | emergencies, the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 539) of Frank |
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| 12 | 12 | | A. Moran and others relative to providing for diabetes management in |
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| 13 | 13 | | schools, the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 552) of Edward R. |
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| 14 | 14 | | Philips and Vanna Howard relative to the emergency administration of |
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| 15 | 15 | | glucagon in schools, and the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. |
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| 16 | 16 | | 556) of Edward R. Philips relative to undesignated glucagon rescue |
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| 17 | 17 | | therapies in schools, reports recommending that the accompanying bill |
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| 18 | 18 | | (House, No. 4420) ought to pass. |
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| 19 | 19 | | For the committee, |
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| 20 | 20 | | DENISE C. GARLICK. 1 of 2 |
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| 21 | 21 | | FILED ON: 2/5/2024 |
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| 22 | 22 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4420 |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act relative to emergency stock supply of epinephrine in schools. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 8A of Chapter 69 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting in line 25 after the word "resuscitation" the |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3following: - the administration of non-patient specific epinephrine. |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4 SECTION 2. Section 54B of chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5striking the third paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph: - |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6 Notwithstanding any general or special law or regulation to the contrary, each school |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7shall, subject to appropriation, maintain a stock supply of non-patient specific epinephrine in a |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8secure but unlocked place, as determined by the school nurse, accessible only to authorized |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9persons, located in every part of the school grounds where an allergic student is most at risk, |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10including, but not limited to, classrooms and lunchrooms. The stock shall be available to all |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11students, including students with individualized health care plans prescribing epinephrine |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12injections, to be administered in the event of an anaphylactic emergency. The department of |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13public health shall promulgate regulations requiring school districts to adopt and implement 2 of 2 |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14policies pursuant to this section. Such regulations shall require that the number and type of |
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| 45 | 45 | | 15epinephrine auto injectors that each school shall stock be based on school population; (ii) the |
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| 46 | 46 | | 16individuals authorized to administer epinephrine meet certain training requirements for such |
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| 47 | 47 | | 17administration, including the use of epinephrine dose calculation devices; and (iii) he stock |
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| 48 | 48 | | 18inventory be checked at regular intervals for expiration and replacement. A school nurse or other |
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| 49 | 49 | | 19authorized individual who provides, administers, or assists in the administration of epinephrine |
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| 50 | 50 | | 20to a student believed in good faith to be having an anaphylactic reaction shall not be liable for |
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| 51 | 51 | | 21any civil damages for negligence in acts or omissions resulting from the rendering of such |
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| 52 | 52 | | 22treatment. Whenever any employee of a school district is covered by the immunity granted |
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| 53 | 53 | | 23herein, the school district employing the individual shall not be liable for any civil damages for |
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| 54 | 54 | | 24negligence in acts or omissions resulting from the rendering of such treatment. |
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| 55 | 55 | | 25 SECTION 3. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department |
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| 56 | 56 | | 26of public health in conjunction with the department of elementary and secondary education shall |
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| 57 | 57 | | 27make all reasonable efforts to obtain federal funding or reimbursement for the implementation of |
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| 58 | 58 | | 28this act. The department of public health in conjunction with the department of elementary and |
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| 59 | 59 | | 29secondary education shall inquire about free epinephrine from pharmaceutical companies. |
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