Vermont H 617: An act relating to notice of employment laws

Bill Text

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VT LEG #386217 v.1
H.617 1
Introduced by Representative Hooper of Burlington 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Education; health services; seizure action plan 5
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to require school 6
districts and approved independent schools to create seizure action plans for 7
students diagnosed with a seizure disorder, designate school personnel to 8
administer or assist with the self-administration of seizure rescue medications 9
and vagus nerve stimulators, require parent authorization for the administration 10
of such medications within a school, and provide training for school personnel 11
and students on seizures and seizure disorders, and also requires the Agency of 12
Education to collect certain information regarding compliance with these 13
requirements and report it to the General Assembly annually. 14
An act relating to seizure disorders in schools 15
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 16
Sec. 1. 16 V.S.A. § 1370 is added to read: 17
§ 1370. SEIZURE ACTION PLANS 18

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VT LEG #386217 v.1
(a) As used in this section, “seizure action plan” means a written, 1
individualized health plan designed to acknowledge and prepare for the health 2
care needs of a student diagnosed with a seizure disorder. 3
(b)(1) Beginning in the 2027–2028 school year, the board of each school 4
district and the governing body of each approved independent school shall 5
designate at least two school employees at each school who have met the 6
training requirements necessary to administer or assist with the self-7
administration of: 8
(A) a seizure rescue medication or medication prescribed to treat 9
seizure disorder symptoms as approved by the U.S. Food and Drug 10
Administration and any successor agency; and 11
(B) a manual dose of prescribed electrical stimulation using a vagus 12
nerve stimulator (VNS) magnet as approved by the U.S. Food and Drug 13
Administration and any successor agency. 14
(2) For those assigned the duties under this subsection, the training 15
provided shall include instructions in administering seizure medications, 16
manual vagus nerve stimulation, recognizing the signs and symptoms of 17
seizures, and the appropriate steps to be taken to respond to such symptoms. 18
(3) The presence of a registered nurse employed full time by a school 19
district who assumes responsibility for the administration of seizure 20

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VT LEG #386217 v.1
medications and the administrative oversight of vagus nerve stimulation shall 1
fulfill the requirements of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection. 2
(4) Prior to the administration of a seizure rescue medication or 3
medication prescribed to treat seizure disorder symptoms in a public or 4
approved independent school, the student’s parent or guardian shall: 5
(A) provide the school with a written authorization to administer the 6
medication at school; 7
(B) provide a written statement from the student’s health care 8
practitioner, which shall contain the following information: 9
(i) the student’s name; 10
(ii) the name and purpose of the medication; 11
(iii) the prescribed dosage; 12
(iv) the route of administration; 13
(v) the frequency with which the medication may be administered; 14
and 15
(vi) the circumstances under which the medication may be 16
administered; and 17
(C) provide the prescribed medication to the school in its unopened, 18
sealed package with the label affixed by the dispensing pharmacy intact. 19
(5) Permission for the administration of any of the medications listed 20
under this subsection shall be effective for the school year in which it is 21

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VT LEG #386217 v.1
granted and shall be renewed each following school year upon fulfilling the 1
requirements of subsection (c) of this section. 2
(c)(1) Every public and approved independent school shall provide training 3
every two years to principals, guidance counselors, teachers, and other relevant 4
school personnel with direct contact with and supervision of children, 5
including bus drivers and classroom aides, on the recognition of the signs and 6
symptoms of seizures and the appropriate steps for seizure first aid. 7
(2) Any training programs or guidelines adopted by the Agency of 8
Education for the training of school personnel in the health care needs of 9
students diagnosed with a seizure disorder shall be fully consistent with 10
training programs and guidelines developed by the Epilepsy Foundation of 11
America and any successor organization. Notwithstanding any provision of 12
law to the contrary, for the purposes of the training provided pursuant to this 13
section, a school district shall be permitted to use any adequate and appropriate 14
training program or guidelines for the training of school personnel in the 15
seizure di