Pupil health: epinephrine delivery systems: schoolsites and childcare programs.

Senator Niello’s measure would move pupil health policy beyond auto-injectors by authorizing epinephrine delivery systems at schoolsites and in state- or federally subsidized childcare programs, and by extending storage, administration, and oversight duties to county offices of education and charter schools. The core objective is to ensure emergency access to epinephrine through trained personnel and volunteers, supported by prescribed prescriptions, training standards, and liability protections for participating adults.

Key mechanisms center on three interrelated changes. First, pharmacies may furnish epinephrine delivery systems to local educational agencies for exclusive use at LEA sites and subsidized childcare programs, with a physician’s written order specifying quantities and a three-year records-retention requirement for acquisition and disposition. Second, LEAs must provide epinephrine delivery systems at each schoolsite and childcare location, store them accessibly, and authorize school nurses, trained personnel, or qualified childcare employees to administer them in cases of suspected anaphylaxis, subject to defined liability protections and specific definitions of terms such as “childcare program,” “volunteer,” and “local educational agency.” Third, pupil medication administration is amended to permit carrying and self-administration of a prescription epinephrine delivery system, contingent on physician/guardian written statements detailing the medication and confirming the pupil’s ability to self-administer, along with a guarded civil-liability release for staff.

Additional provisions establish training standards to be reviewed every five years, require annual staff notices describing volunteer opportunities and storage locations, designate who stocks prescriptions and how prescriptions may be fulfilled, and provide indemnification for volunteers and other protections for physicians issuing orders. Private schools may opt in to provide delivery systems and trained personnel but may not receive state funds for that subdivision. The bill also creates a mechanism for state-mandated local program reimbursement if the state Mandates Commission determines costs are mandated, aligning with existing reimbursement frameworks for mandated local programs.

In its policy context, the measure standardizes an emergency-response framework across schoolsites and subsidized childcare programs, expands who may store and administer epinephrine, and ties training to recognized public-health guidelines while preserving physician oversight and liability protections. Stakeholders—LEAs, childcare programs, volunteers, private schools, physicians, and parents—face new recordkeeping, stocking, and training requirements, with potential funding implications governed by the state’s reimbursement processes. The proposal relies on defined terms and cross-references to the Education and Health and Safety Codes, and it contemplates periodic updates to training standards and materials consistent with current clinical guidance.