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House Education Committee reviews bill to allow intranasal epinephrine in schools
Summary
On March 13, 2025, the House Education Committee discussed H.209, which would let schools keep intranasal epinephrine on site and change who may authorize its administration, with committee members and legislative counsel describing drafted changes and scheduling a committee vote for the following day.
A member of the House Education Committee and Katie McDonough, legislative counsel with the Office of Legislative Council, discussed H.209 on March 13, 2025, a bill that would allow schools to maintain intranasal epinephrine in the same manner as epinephrine auto-injectors and revise who may authorize its use.
The bill would add intranasal epinephrine to the existing statute that permits schools to keep a stock supply of epinephrine and would change several definitions and authorization procedures. Katie McDonough said the bill’s revisions were made after input from school nurses and from a prior testifier named Kelly. "When you last met, you heard from school nurses and the concern wasn't with the language being added per se, but with the underlying existing structure that's in statute. And the main concern was that it should be school nurses who are making decisions about who can administer and not school administrators," McDonough said.
Under the draft language described by legislative counsel, "designated personnel" would include a school employee, agent, volunteer or a licensed practical nurse who would act under the direction of a school nurse. The bill would change the authorization pathway so that a school administrator authorizes a school nurse, and the school nurse in turn may authorize designated personnel to provide or administer epinephrine auto-injectors or intranasal epinephrine. McDonough summarized the draft wording: "The school administrator may authorize a school nurse who in turn may authorize designated personnel."
The draft also narrows who counts as a "school nurse" by cross-referencing endorsement by AOE pursuant to its licensing rule for educators and education professionals. McDonough said the bill allows a health care professional to prescribe an epinephrine auto-injector or intranasal epinephrine in the school's name and requires that the health care professional, "in consultation with the school nurse," issue a standing order for use under the section. McDonough clarified that, in the bill text, the defined term for health care professional refers to a physician, advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant with prescribing authority.
Other changes described would require school nurses and parents or guardians of students with life-threatening allergies to jointly develop an individualized allergy management plan that incorporates instructions from the student's health care professional. McDonough said those edits reflect requests from school nurses who testified earlier in the session.
No formal motion or committee vote on H.209 was recorded during the March 13 discussion. Committee members said the committee planned to mark up the bill and take votes the following afternoon. One committee member noted multiple members would have the opportunity to present the bill on the floor after committee action.
The discussion on March 13 focused on drafting and clarifying language in response to prior testimony; the committee did not adopt final amendments or take a recorded vote that day. The bill's sponsor or final floor presenter was not specified in the transcript of this meeting.
