Panel reviews bill to permit parent‑designated adults to give emergency injections for students with adrenal insufficiency

The House Education Committee heard House Bill 1709, a bill that would permit parent‑designated adults (PDAs) to provide necessary care for students with adrenal insufficiency, including administering emergency injectable cortisol when a nurse or parent is not available.

Damien Morden Snipper, nonpartisan staff, briefed members on how current statutory requirements limit schools’ ability to administer injectable medication except when specifically authorized and explained the existing PDA framework used for diabetes and seizure disorders. He described adrenal insufficiency (including congenital adrenal hyperplasia) as a condition in which the body does not produce enough cortisol; in acute adrenal crisis, low cortisol can present “an imminent risk of shock or death.” Snipper said injectable cortisol can be a life‑saving emergency…