Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Senate allows noninjectable epinephrine in schools if provided by parents
Loading...
Summary
The Utah Senate passed a substitute to House Bill 333 allowing intranasal epinephrine in schools only if families provide and authorize that form, while otherwise keeping injectable epinephrine as the standard.
The Utah Senate passed second substitute House Bill 333, an amendment to the state's medications-in-schools law that clarifies what forms of epinephrine school staff may administer.
Senator Milner, sponsor of the bill on the floor, described the measure as a response to a new intranasal epinephrine product recently coming to market. Milner said the new intranasal product was "so new that neither myself nor Senator Vickers had heard about it," and that medical partners, including Primary Children's Hospital, were not yet comfortable stocking it because they lacked "real time data" and because the expense is high.
The substitute adopted on the floor permits schools to maintain injectable forms of epinephrine and allows intranasal epinephrine to be present and used at school only if the student's family has prescribed and purchased the intranasal product and provided it to the school. The sponsor said this approach was "a slow and safe way to go" that preserves parental choice while allowing families to use the newer product for their child.
Senator Plumb, who offered the floor substitute, explained the compromise: the bill "would allow any form of injectable epinephrine to be in our schools and it would allow that intranasal form if the student's family had scribed and they had purchased it and the family is bringing it in for their child." The substitute does not require schools to purchase intranasal epinephrine.
The Senate recorded a roll-call vote. The clerk announced the result: "Second substitute House Bill 333, having received 24 ye votes, 0 nay votes, 5 being absent, passes the Senate, will be sent to the House for further consideration."
Ending: The substitute was pitched by sponsors as a measured approach that balances emergent medical products with school safety protocols and parental authority. The bill proceeds back to the House for any further action required.
