Senate Bill No. 441
(By Senator Sprouse)
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[Introduced February 4, 2004; referred to the Committee on
Education; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5-22a of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to requiring county boards of
education to allow the self-administration of medication
administered by way of a metered-dose inhaler by a pupil for
asthma or other potentially life-threatening respiratory
illness under certain circumstances; allowing the pupil to
maintain possession of the inhaler; and limiting liability of
boards of education, its employees and agents under certain
circumstances.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-5-22a of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-22a. Policy for the administration of medications.
(a) All county boards of education shall develop a specific medication administration policy which establishes the procedure to
be followed for the administration of medication at each school.
(b) No school employee shall may be required to administer
medications, Provided, That nothing herein shall prevent any
except:
(1) A school employee to may elect to administer medication
after receiving training as provided herein: Provided, however,
That any pursuant to a board policy developed under this section;
and
(2) A school employee in the field of special education whose
employment commenced began on or after the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, may be required to administer
medications after receiving training as provided herein pursuant to
a board policy developed under this section.
(c) All county boards of education shall permit the
self-administration of medication administered by way of a
metered-dose inhaler by a pupil for asthma or other potentially
life-threatening respiratory illnesses and allow the pupil to
maintain possession of the inhaler if:
(1) The parents or guardians of the pupil provide to the board
of education written authorization for the self-administration of
medication and a written medical history of the pupil's experience
with the potentially life-threatening respiratory illness and a
plan of action for addressing any emergency situations that could reasonably be anticipated as a consequence of administering the
medication and having the potentially life-threatening respiratory
illness;
(2) The parents or guardians of the pupil provide to the board
of education written certification from the physician of the pupil
that the pupil has asthma or another potentially life-threatening
respiratory illness and is capable of, and has been instructed in,
the proper method of self-administration of medication and informed
of the dangers of permitting other persons to use medicine
prescribed for the pupil;
(3) The board informs the parents or guardians of the pupil in
writing that the board and its employees or agents are not liable
for any injury arising from the self-administration of medication
by the pupil, absent any negligence by the board, its employees or
its agents or as a result of providing all relevant information
provided pursuant to subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection to
the school nurse, absent any negligence by the board, its employees
or its agents, or in the absence of the nurse, to the school
principal;
(4) The parents or guardians of the pupil sign a statement
acknowledging that the board is not liable for any injury arising
from the self-administration of medication by the pupil and that
the parents or guardians will indemnify and hold harmless the board
and its employees or agents against any claims arising out of the self-administration of medication by the pupil; and
(5) The permission is effective for the school year for which
it is granted and is renewed for each subsequent school year upon
fulfillment of the requirements of subdivisions (1) through (4) of
this subsection.
(d) The board and its employees or agents are not liable for
any injury arising from the self-administration of medication by a
pupil allowed under subsection (c) of this section, absent any
negligence by the board, its employees or its agents or as a result
of providing all relevant information provided pursuant to
subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection to the school nurse,
absent any negligence by the board, its employees or its agents, or
in the absence of the nurse, to the school principal.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require county boards of
education to allow, under certain circumstances, the self-
administration of medication administered by way of a metered-dose
inhaler by a pupil for asthma or other potentially life-threatening
respiratory illness and to allow the pupil to maintain possession
of the inhaler.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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