Beloit School District committee advances updates to emergency nursing and medication policies

The Beloit School District Policy Committee voted Wednesday to send revisions to three related school-health policies to a second reading, including a plan to add stock short-acting bronchodilators (albuterol) to school buildings.

Ms. Papilias, director of school health for the Beloit School District, told the committee the package of edits is driven in part by recent changes in state law and in part by district experience handling overnight trips, field trips and on-site emergencies.

The revisions would: add short-acting bronchodilators (albuterol) to the district's inventory of stock emergency medications; confirm existing stock epinephrine and naloxone (Narcan) protocols; require training and annual drills for the district's Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT); set notification timelines for field trips and overnight activities; and require a five-business-day standard for submitting orders for first-aid supplies.

Why it matters: the updates explicitly affect students with asthma, diabetes and severe allergies and clarify when staff may administer life-saving medications during school activities and events. The proposals also align district practice with Wisconsin statute 118.296 and with professional nursing standards cited in the draft.

Key changes and clarifications - Stock albuterol: The draft says a "stock short acting bronchodilator will be available in all K-12 school buildings" for use when a person is suspected of experiencing respiratory distress and does not have an inhaler. Ms. Papilias said, "We are looking to add the stock albuterol to our district." Trained staff or volunteers may administer it; if an individual is not improving within 20 minutes they should be transported by ambulance or sooner if needed.

- When to call 911: The draft states that 911 must be called "as soon as possible whenever administering glucagon, epinephrine, or opioid agonist antagonist." For short-acting albuterol, staff following standing orders would not be required to call 911 unless the person is not improving.

- MERT and training: The district will maintain an emergency medical response team at each building, require annual building drills, and provide state-required training videos and return demonstrations for designated staff. Ms. Papilias described return-demonstration practice and said coaches and extracurricular supervisors will be trained as needed.

- Field trips and school-sponsored activities: Teachers and staff must notify the school nurse at least two weeks before day trips and four weeks before overnight activities; for extended events, the organizer must provide a final list of participants to the nurse or designee four weeks before the trip. For regular school-day trips, current training documentation must be on file at least one week prior.

- Supplies and logistics: The draft directs that purchases of first-aid supplies be "submitted within 5 business days," a change the committee adopted after discussing whether "timely manner" was specific enough.

- Medication administration and self-carry: Nonprescription medication self-administration will be permitted for students in grades 6 through 12 only with written parent permission and, where the dose differs from label recommendations, a licensed practitioner's order. The revisions also require school nurses to confirm proper self-administration before permitting a student to carry and use medication independently.

- Stock medications and custody: The policy would require stock medications (epinephrine, naloxone, and the proposed albuterol) to remain on school grounds and not be taken off campus except per protocol; stock medication protocols must be approved by the medical advisor and the director of school health.

Committee action and next steps The policy committee voted to lay over the three items for a second reading. For each vote the clerk recorded the motion as carried, 2-0. The committee indicated the policies will return for a second reading in a forthcoming policy committee meeting and then proceed to the full school board for final reading; the presenters said the district is aiming to have final action before the start of the school year on the Aug. 19 board agenda.

Statements and context - On stock naloxone: Ms. Papilias said the district has already implemented stock Narcan "a few years back" and that buildings receive free naloxone and conduct twice-yearly drills. - On review of medication orders: The committee clarified that the school nurse must review medications at initiation of orders, when changes occur, when prescription labels change, when new prescriptions arrive, or when indicated by the nurse's clinical judgment.

What the committee did not decide The committee approved the package for a second reading; it did not adopt final policy language. Several board members asked for clearer phrasing on timing and process items; the presenter and board agreed to the new five-business-day language for supply requisitions and to the field-trip notice windows.

Next scheduled step: second reading at the policy committee (date to be set), followed by final reading at the full school board (presenters identified Aug. 19, 2025 as the target for final action).