Stock Supply of Emergency Medications in Health Offices

Per district policy, “certain medications for emergency use, such as epinephrine pens to treat anaphylaxis, naloxone to treat opioid overdoses, or similar medications, may be administered by a school nurse, or by a trained individual where law allows, to individuals who present with symptoms regardless of whether a physician’s order exists, as the condition may be undiagnosed.”

For the 2017-18 school year, the health office in each building will stock the following medications for use during the school day:

• Narcan (naloxone): 2 doses per building for use in the case of suspected opioid overdose
• EpiPen/EpiPen Jr (epinephrine auto injector): 2 doses per building, plus sufficient supply to send at least one dose on field studies taking place out side of school

Students who are already diagnosed with the potential need at school for such medication as listed above, such as an allergy that could cause anaphylaxis, must provide a physician’s order for the emergency medication to the school nurse. In cases where the school has such emergency medication in stock, parents of students who are prescribed such medications will not be required to provide personal doses of medication for their child’s potential use in an emergency at school. This exception is provided as an opportunity for families to potentially save on the expense of purchasing multiple doses of emergency medication (such as multiple epinephrine pens), since the school will already have a supply on hand, it is rare that this medication is required to be administered, and rarer still that multiple individuals would need doses at the same time. However, parents may opt to send in the emergency medication specific to their child if that is their preference. 

The school nurse, parents, student’s physician, and, where appropriate, school administration, will confer on a case-by-case basis whether a student may carry a personal, prescribed emergency medication on his or her person for potential self-administration, such as an epinephrine pen or asthma inhaler. The availability of personal, prescribed emergency medications to be self-administered by students will be governed by applicable state laws and regulations. 

Because stock emergency medication may not be available during school activities that take place outside of school hours, the school district cannot make any commitment to families regarding the availability of stock emergency medication outside of school hours. The carrying of a personal, prescribed emergency medication as described above is encouraged for students who are trained in self-administration and participate in such programs.