House Bill 346: Seizure Safe Schools Act

April 12, 2024April 22, 2024 Bill Tracker

Latest Action

---

On April 15, the House invited conference on HB 346.

Explanation of the Bill

---

The purpose of House Bill 346 is to ensure schools are equipped to serve students who have seizures. It creates requirements for schools to ensure at least one staff member is qualified to help students with seizure disorders. The bill contains a reverse repealer, so it is likely that it will be amended further as it continues to make its way through the legislative process. 

Seizure Response Training

As amended by the Senate, the bill would require public and private schools that enroll at least one student with a seizure disorder to ensure that at least one employee has met the training requirements necessary to serve a student experiencing a seizure. The training must include instruction in seizure medication administration and manual vagus nerve stimulation. It must also provide information about how to recognize symptoms of a seizure and respond to different symptoms.

Public schools would additionally be required to provide training every two years to principals, guidance counselors, teachers, and other school staff members about how to recognize symptoms of seizures and provide appropriate first aid. 

To meet the above requirements, schools could use “any appropriate training program” that is consistent with the Epilepsy Foundation of America and approved by the Mississippi Department of Education. 

Parent Permission Requirement

In order for a student with a seizure disorder to receive seizure treatment at school, their parent or guardian must provide the school with:

• Written authorization for the school to administer seizure medication; 
• A written statement from the student’s healthcare practitioner that includes the student’s name, the name/purpose of the medication, the prescribed dosage, the route of administration, the frequency the medication can be administered, and the circumstances under which it may be administered;
• The prescribed medication in its unopened package with the pharmacy label attached. 

Parent permission to administer medication would be effective only for the school year in which it is granted. 

Seizure Action Plan

School staff would be required to collaborate with the parent or guardian of a student with a seizure disorder to create a seizure action plan, which would provide guidance about the health care needs of the student. Seizure action plans would be kept on file in either the office of a school nurse or school administrator and provided to any school staff members or volunteers responsible for the care of the student. The State Board of Education (SBE) would be tasked with developing further regulations around the development and content of seizure action plans. 

Seizure Education

Public schools would be required to provide age-appropriate education to all students on seizures and seizure disorders, consistent with guidelines published by the Epilepsy Foundation of America. The SBE would be responsible for creating regulations around the development and implementation of a seizure education program.  

Good Samaritan Clause

Under this act, school districts and school district employees acting in compliance with a student’s individual health plan would not be liable in any criminal action as a result of the services they provide to students with seizure disorders. This clause is likely intended to prevent school staff from failing to act out of fear of legal repercussions. 

In sum, this bill intends to create a safer school environment for students who are at risk of experiencing seizures. It would ensure schools are equipped to serve these students in a way that is consistent with the students’ medical needs.