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SB 752

Needle Free Epinephrine for Schoolchildren.

2025-2026 Session Introduced by Gale Adcock and 6 co-sponsors

Schools must stock at least two needle-free epinephrine products (including nasal sprays) on campus and train staff to use them for emergency treatment of anaphylaxis.

Passed 1st Reading
0
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Bill Summary · SB 752

SB 752 — Needle Free Epinephrine for Schoolchildren (First Edition)

Status: Passed 1st Reading (Introduced 02/21/2025)
Applies beginning with the 2025–2026 school year (effective when enacted)

Purpose / Intent

SB 752 updates North Carolina school health law to expressly allow and integrate needle‑free epinephrine products (e.g., intranasal epinephrine sprays) in school emergency supplies and policies alongside existing epinephrine auto‑injectors. The bill aims to increase timely access to life‑saving anaphylaxis treatment and to modernize school protocols and training to cover both injectors and nasal spray formulations.

Key provisions and changes

  • Amends G.S. 115C‑375.2 and creates/edits G.S. 115C‑375.2A to:
    • Broadly expand the definition of covered medications from “epinephrine auto‑injector” to “epinephrine product,” explicitly including nasal epinephrine sprays as well as spring‑activated injectors.
    • Require each school to maintain a supply of emergency epinephrine product(s) on school property for use by trained personnel to treat anaphylaxis. Each school must store a minimum of two epinephrine products in a secure but unlocked, easily accessible location. (Note: “school property” excludes transportation to/from school.)
    • Require the principal to designate one or more school personnel to receive initial training and annual retraining (from a school nurse or local health department representative) on storage and emergency use of epinephrine products.
    • Permit the trained school nurse or designated personnel to obtain a non‑patient‑specific prescription for epinephrine products from a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner at the local health department.
    • Require principals to develop an emergency action plan for epinephrine product use, including storage procedures, recognition and training for anaphylaxis, emergency follow‑up (EMS and parent/physician contact), and CPR instruction/certification.
    • Clarify that the school supply is not intended to be the sole medication source for students who already require and possess their own prescribed epinephrine products; students may still be authorized to possess and self‑administer under existing law.
  • Extends compliance requirements to charter schools and regional schools: charter/regional school boards must provide and maintain appropriate epinephrine product supplies and follow the same rules.

Who is affected

  • Students at risk for anaphylaxis (direct benefit from broader treatment options).
  • Parents/guardians (notification expectations and continued responsibility to provide personal medication if needed).
  • Local boards of education, public schools, charter schools, and regional schools (must adopt policies, hold supplies, train staff, and maintain emergency plans).
  • School nurses and designated school personnel (training and authority to obtain standing/non‑patient specific prescriptions).
  • Local health departments and medical prescribers, who may issue non‑patient specific prescriptions to schools.

Practical and policy impacts

  • Clinical: Greater flexibility for rapid, needle‑free treatment where nasal epinephrine is available/appropriate; may improve response in students hesitant about needles or where injectors are not on hand.
  • Operational: Schools must acquire at least two epinephrine products per site, implement training and emergency plans, and arrange for standing prescriptions. These introduce modest logistics and cost considerations (device purchase, training time).
  • Legal/medical oversight: The bill preserves medical oversight via standing prescriptions and requires training and emergency procedures to mitigate misuse and liability concerns.

Timeline / Procedural notes

  • Introduced 02/21/2025; passed first reading and referred through legislative process.
  • Provision specifies applicability beginning with the 2025–2026 school year (i.e., schools must be prepared for that school year once the bill becomes law).

If you want, I can:
- Draft a one‑page checklist schools could use to implement the new requirements, or
- Prepare suggested amendment language (e.g., minimum stock levels, funding/ reimbursement provisions, or clarification on whether school buses/transport are included).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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