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Bill modernizes school epinephrine rules, clarifies coverage for preschool students
Summary
Sen. Susan Ashby presented SB 568 to update statutory language on school-stocked epinephrine and clarify whether preschools fall under the existing requirement; witnesses from school nursing and allergy medicine said the change closes gaps as universal preschool expands and that epinephrine dosing and standing orders are available for young c
Sen. Susan Ashby presented Senate Bill 568, the Epinephrine in Schools Modernization Act, to the Assembly Education Committee, saying the bill modernizes statutory language and clarifies that stock epinephrine requirements apply to all public school programs, including preschool and expanded transitional kindergarten (UTK).
Ashby said SB 568 accepts committee amendments and updates language to reflect newer medication delivery devices and to remove ambiguities that have led some districts to exclude preschools from stock epinephrine programs. She noted the 2014 law (SB 1266) that required epinephrine in public schools and said the state’s move toward universal preschool makes explicit clarification necessary.
Kirsten Monk, a school nurse and credentialing program coordinator at Sacramento State, testified that some preschools have lacked clear access: the EpiPen for Schools program and the California Department of Public Health standing orders have not consistently covered off-site preschool programs, forcing districts to secure standing orders from individual physicians and incur extra costs. Monk described a case in which a preschool student experienced anaphylaxis and required stock epinephrine; the medication was available only because the preschool was housed on an elementary campus.
Dr. Travis Miller, a board-certified allergist, described available pediatric dosing options (0.3 mg, 0.15 mg and 0.1 mg auto-injectors) and said epinephrine is safe when given in appropriate pediatric doses down to infants in some circumstances. He and other supporters, including the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the California School Nurses Organization, urged the committee to move SB 568 to appropriations to ensure consistent protection for all students.
Committee members asked about dosing for lower-weight children and how school staff who may not be nurses are trained to assist; witnesses said the bill preserves existing practices for training and delegation and clarifies weight-based dosing options.
The committee passed SB 568 as amended to Appropriations (8–0); the committee record shows broad support from medical and school nursing organizations and from pediatricians’ and allergy groups.
