Legislation

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Carrying Prescribed Epinephrine at School

Virtually every state has passed legislation allowing students, with appropriate consent, to carry their prescribed epinephrine at school. Depending on the wording of the law, the permission to carry may also extend to activities held on school property, and during transportation to and from school or school-related events. Many of these state laws also apply to prescribed asthma medications. Below are the states that have adopted these laws or regulations, (with year of enactment in parentheses. If you would like a copy of the law/regulation, please email cweiss@foodallergy.org

Alaska (2005)
Arizona (2005)
Arkansas (2005)
California (2004)
Colorado (2005)
Connecticut (2009)
Delaware (2003)
District of Columbia (2007)
Florida (2005)
Georgia (2009
Hawaii (2004)
Idaho (2008)
Illinois (2006)
Indiana (2001)
Iowa (2004)
Kansas (2005)
Kentucky (2004)

Louisiana (2009)
Maine (2004)
Maryland (2005)
Massachusetts (1993)
Michigan (2004)
Minnesota (2004)
Missouri (2006)
Mississippi (2010)
Montana (2005)
Nebraska (2006)
Nevada (2005)
New Hampshire (2003)
New Jersey (2001)
New Mexico (2005)
North Carolina (2005)
North Dakota (2005)

Ohio (2006)
Oregon (2007)
Oklahoma (2008)Pennsylvania (2010)
Rhode Island (1998)South Carolina (2005)
South Dakota (2010)
Tennessee (2005)
Texas (2006)
Utah (2008)
Vermont (2008)
Virginia (2005)
Washington (2005)
West Virginia (2004)
Wisconsin (2011)
Wyoming (2007) 

Non-Student-Specific Epinephrine at School

There is an emerging trend that allows a school (or other entity, such as a summer camp) to obtain a “stock” epinephrine auto-injector not tied to any one particular child. The epinephrine device could then be used in an anaphylactic emergency. The state of Kansas passed such a law in 2009. FAAN supports this initiative, largely because of data strongly suggesting that up to 25% of all epinephrine administrations that occur in the school setting involve students and adult staffers whose risk for anaphylaxis was unknown by the school at the time of the event; as a result, there was no prescribed epinephrine device on hand at the school for that particular individual.

Schools and the Law

It is generally accepted that children with life-threatening food allergies are considered disabled under federal civil rights laws, such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Section 504 is overseen by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office for Civil Rights. The ADA is overseen by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Questions or comments? Send an e-mail to cweiss@foodallergy.org.