Virginia school health committee forms subcommittee on diabetes care, highlights new laws and nurse scholarships

The School Health Services Committee met in Richmond and agreed to form a subcommittee to study Senate Bill 1303, the bill on diabetes medical management in public schools, while also reviewing several recently enacted laws and a new budgetary scholarship for school nurses.

Ryan Bremer, committee staff, told members the 2025 legislative session had been “very successful” for the panel: “4 of your endorsed proposals made it through, 3 statutory and 1 budgetary.” Those items include new laws to permit certain school staff to administer seizure rescue medication and to require cardiac emergency response plans in every public elementary and secondary school, a budgetary set-aside to help LPNs pursue RN training, and an extension of the committee’s sunset through 2028.

The committee created a subcommittee to take a “comprehensive review” of Senate Bill 1303 over the interim and to report back to the full committee. Bremer said the bill, which passed the Senate, was amended in the House and that the House substitute asked this committee to study the bill’s provisions. Committee leaders named co-chairs for the subcommittee and said the subcommittee will work outside or alongside the regular meeting schedule; the subcommittee is expected to report back to the full committee no later than Oct. 1.

Why it matters: committee members and public commenters said the topics touch everyday student safety and access to care. Betsy Looney, president of the Virginia Association of School Nurses, thanked the committee for pausing to study SB 1303 and urged caution: “we don’t want to rush through certain bills, but that we fully understand the ramifications of them.” Catherine Haynes, health equity manager with the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, urged the committee to pair policy mandates with funding, noting that “there is no funding dedicated from the state for an RN or an APRN in schools.”

Legislative and budget items reviewed

- Seizure rescue medications: Bremer summarized a law brought by Senator Pekarski and Delegate Bennett Parker that permits school boards to adopt policies allowing certain school employees to administer seizure rescue medication when a school nurse or other health professional cannot reach a student in time, and that permits secondary students to self-possess medication if indicated in the student’s seizure management plan. Bremer said that proposal “passed the general assembly and was signed into law.”

- Cardiac emergency response plans: Bremer said a second statute, carried by Senator Rouse (with an identical House version by Delegate Askew), now requires each public elementary and secondary school to establish a cardiac emergency response plan or athletic emergency action plan for incidents of sudden cardiac arrest, including several specified plan components.

- Nursing scholarships (budget item 271E4): The final budget includes language setting aside $300,000 from the existing nursing scholarship fund to provide scholarships of up to $10,000 to help licensed practical nurses (LPNs) pursue training to become registered nurses (RNs) and continue to work as school nurses for the period they receive that education, Bremer said. The language is identified in the committee packet as item 271E4.

- Committee extension: The committee’s sunset was extended by three years; Bremer said that extension has been signed into law and “will go into effect on July 1,” giving the committee through 2028 to continue its work.

SB 1303 and the subcommittee

Bremer summarized the procedural history of Senate Bill 1303, describing it as a lawmaker-led attempt to address diabetes medical management in schools that “passed the Senate” but prompted a House substitute. Rather than move the substitute forward, the House directed this committee to perform a comprehensive review during the interim and return with recommendations. Committee leaders said they will invite the bill’s patron to appear and that the subcommittee will prioritize in-person meetings when possible.

Public comment and advocacy priorities

Speakers at the meeting urged the committee to use the interim to consider broader school health needs. Betsy Looney of the Virginia Association of School Nurses read a statement from the Virginia chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics that “strongly recommend[s] a minimum of 1 full time school nurse defined as a registered professional nurse, present in every Virginia school,” and noted that school nurses reduce chronic absenteeism and prevent unnecessary emergency department visits. Angela Moore, a nurse specialist with Chesterfield County Public Schools and past president of the Virginia Association of School Nurses, described long-standing efforts “to try to get a registered nurse in all schools in Virginia.”

Catherine Haynes said the committee should align funding with new mandates and suggested adding RNs and APRNs to the list of approved expenditures for the state’s at-risk add-on, and adding a dedicated budget line for RNs and APRNs so high-need districts can meet new statutory requirements.

Process and next steps

Senators and delegates on the committee discussed membership for the SB 1303 subcommittee; leaders asked members who want to serve to notify them. Committee leaders also agreed the review should include school-system representatives, including the School Board Association and the Association of Superintendents, to ensure the study reflects current school practice and operations. The subcommittee is expected to report back to the full committee by Oct. 1.

The committee adjourned after hearing public comment and confirming the subcommittee timeline.