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HOUSE BILL 300
57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 2025
INTRODUCED BY
Martin R. Zamora
AN ACT
RELATING TO SCHOOLS; ENACTING THE SEIZURE SAFE SCHOOLS ACT TO
PROVIDE FOR SEIZURE DISORDER MANAGEMENT AND CARE BY SCHOOL
PERSONNEL; PROVIDING FOR RULEMAKING; LIMITING LIABILITY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the
"Seizure Safe Schools Act"."
SECTION 2. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Seizure Safe
Schools Act:
A. "governing body" means:
(1) the school board of a school district;
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(2) the governing structure of a charter
school as set forth in the school's charter; or
(3) the entity that governs a private school;
B. "school" means an elementary, secondary, middle,
junior high or high school or any combination of those,
including a public school, state-chartered or locally chartered
charter school or private school that students attend in
person;
C. "school employee" means a person employed by a
school or a person employed by the department who is assigned
to a school;
D. "school nurse" means a person who:
(1) is authorized pursuant to the Nursing
Practice Act to practice as a professional registered nurse;
(2) is licensed by the department and the
board of nursing as a school nurse; and
(3) provides services as a school nurse at a
school;
E. "seizure action plan" means a written,
individualized health plan designed to acknowledge and prepare
for the health care needs of a student diagnosed with a seizure
disorder; and
F. "seizure care personnel" means a school employee
who volunteers to be trained and is trained in accordance with
Section 3 of the Seizure Safe Schools Act."
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SECTION 3. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] SEIZURE CARE--SEIZURE CARE PERSONNEL--
TRAINING.--
A. By December 31, 2025, the department shall adopt
and promulgate rules for the training of school employees and
bus drivers on the management of students with seizure
disorders. Each governing body shall ensure that a seizure
safety training approved by the department is provided annually
to all school employees and bus drivers. At a minimum, the
seizure safety training programs shall include information on:
(1) seizure disorders;
(2) recognition of the signs and symptoms of
seizures and the appropriate steps to be taken to respond to
these symptoms; and
(3) seizure first aid.
B. The department shall, in consultation with the
department of health and New Mexico school nurses association,
adopt and promulgate rules for the training of school nurses
and seizure care personnel on providing care for students with
seizure disorders. Each governing body shall ensure that each
school attended by a student with a seizure disorder has at
least two school employees, including school nurses or seizure
care personnel, trained annually in the administration and use
of:
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(1) seizure rescue medications; and
(2) medications and devices prescribed to
treat seizure disorder symptoms, including vagus nerve
stimulation devices and responsive neurostimulation devices.
C. If a school attended by a student with a seizure
disorder does not have two employees who are trained pursuant
to Subsection B of this section, the school principal or other
school administrator shall distribute a written notice to all
school employees that the school is seeking volunteers to serve
as seizure care personnel. The notice shall inform all school
employees:
(1) that the school is required to provide
seizure disorder care to one or more students with a seizure
disorder;
(2) of the tasks to be performed by seizure
care personnel;
(3) that participation is voluntary and no
school, school district or governing body will take action
against any school employee who does not volunteer;
(4) that training will be provided to school
employees who volunteer to provide seizure care; and
(5) of the identity of the person whom school
employees should contact in order to volunteer to be seizure
care personnel.
D. A governing body shall not require the seizure
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care personnel to be health care practitioners.
E. The training required pursuant to Subsection B
of this section shall be provided by:
(1) a school nurse, if the school has a school
nurse; or
(2) a health care practitioner with expertise
in seizure disorders."
SECTION 4. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] SEIZURE ACTION PLAN.--
A. The parent or guardian of a student with a
seizure disorder who seeks seizure disorder care while at
school shall submit to the school a seizure action plan. The
parent or guardian may submit a new seizure action plan as
necessary when the student's health status changes. Each
seizure action plan shall include:
(1) written orders from the student's
physician or advanced practice nurse outlining the student's
seizure disorder care needs;
(2) the symptoms of the seizure disorder for
that particular student and recommended care;
(3) accommodations for school trips, after-
school activities, class parties, sports, exercise and other
school-related activities;
(4) medical and treatment issues that may
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affect the educational process of the student with the seizure
disorder;
(5) the student's ability to manage and level
of understanding of the student's seizure disorder;
(6) contact information for the student's
parent or guardian and the student's health care team; and
(7) a release signed by the student's parent
or guardian authorizing the school nurse or seizure care
personnel to share the student's medical information with
health care providers, school employees and school bus drivers.
B. Each seizure action plan shall be reviewed and
implemented by a school nurse or seizure care personnel.
C. Each school employee and bus driver responsible
for the supervision or care of a student diagnosed with a
seizure disorder shall be given notice of the student's seizure
action plan."
SECTION 5. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] SEIZURE DISORDER CARE AT SCHOOL.--
A. A governing body shall ensure that all students
with seizure disorders receive appropriate and needed seizure
disorder care as specified in students' seizure action plans.
In accordance with the request of a parent or guardian of a
student with a seizure disorder and the student's seizure
action plan, a school nurse or, in the absence of a school
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nurse, seizure care personnel shall perform seizure disorder
care functions that shall include, at a minimum:
(1) administration or assisted self-
administration of medication prescribed to treat seizure
disorder symptoms;
(2) administration of seizure rescue
medication when needed; and
(3) assisted use of devices that treat seizure
disorder symptoms.
B. A school nurse or at least one seizure care
personnel shall be available to provide care to each student
with a seizure disorder as provided pursuant to Subsection A of
this section during regular school hours and during all
school-sponsored activities, trips, extended off-site
excursions and extracurricular activities in which a student
with a seizure disorder is a participant and on buses where the
bus driver has not been trained in seizure disorder care and a
student with a seizure disorder is a passenger."
SECTION 6. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] APPLICATION OF OTHER LAWS.--
A. The provisions of Subsection B of Section 5 of
the Seizure Safe Schools Act shall not constitute the practice
of nursing, and seizure care personnel shall be exempted from
all applicable statutory or regulatory provisions that restrict
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which activities can be delegated to or performed by a person
who is not a health care practitioner.
B. Nothing in the Seizure Safe Schools Act shall
diminish the rights of students with seizure disorders or the
obligations of school districts under the federal Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the federal
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or the federal Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990."
SECTION 7. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY.--A school
employee, including a school nurse or bus driver, shall not be
held civilly or professionally liable for any act or omission
that is made in good faith and is consistent with the
provisions of the Seizure Safe Schools Act. An act or omission
is not in good faith if it is the result of willful misconduct,
gross negligence or recklessness."
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