119-hr2151

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2151 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2151

 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to 
 authorize a grant program to support students who have epilepsy or a 
 seizure disorder.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 March 14, 2025

 Mr. Norcross (for himself, Mr. Costa, and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education 
 and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to 
 authorize a grant program to support students who have epilepsy or a 
 seizure disorder.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Seizure Awareness and Preparedness 
Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT STUDENTS WHO HAVE EPILEPSY OR A 
 SEIZURE DISORDER.

    (a) In General.--Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:

 ``PART G--GRANT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT STUDENTS WHO HAVE EPILEPSY OR A 
 SEIZURE DISORDER

``

SEC. 4701. GRANT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT STUDENTS WHO HAVE EPILEPSY OR A 
 SEIZURE DISORDER.

 ``

    (a) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:
 ``

    (1) Individualized emergency health care plan.--The term 
 `individualized emergency health care plan' means a document 
 developed by a student's health care provider, in consultation 
 with the parent of a student with epilepsy or a seizure 
 disorder, other appropriate medical professionals who may be 
 providing epilepsy or seizure disorder care to the student, and 
 the school nurse, which outlines a set of procedural guidelines 
 that provide specific directions about what to do in a 
 particular emergency situation and is signed by the health care 
 provider, the parent, and the school nurse.
 ``

    (2) Individualized health care plan.--The term 
 `individualized health care plan' means a document developed by 
 a student's health care provider, in consultation with the 
 parent of a student with epilepsy or a seizure disorder, other 
 appropriate medical professionals who may be providing epilepsy 
 or seizure disorder care to the student, and the school nurse, 
 which is consistent with the recommendations of the student's 
 health care provider and which sets out the health services 
 needed by the student at school and is signed by the health 
 care provider, the parent, and the school nurse.
 ``

    (b) Authorization of Grant Program.--The Secretary shall award 
grants to States, on a competitive basis, to enable the States to award 
subgrants to local educational agencies to carry out a program that 
supports students with epilepsy and seizure disorders in schools.
 ``
            (c) Applications for Grants.--A State that desires to receive a 
grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary 
at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as 
the Secretary may require.
 ``
            (d) Subgrants Authorized.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--A State that receives a grant under this 
 section shall use the grant funds to award subgrants to local 
 educational agencies to enable the local educational agencies 
 to carry out a program that funds training of school personnel 
 on seizure awareness and preparedness that covers 
 individualized health care plans and individualized emergency 
 health care plans for students who have epilepsy or a seizure 
 disorder.
 ``

    (2) Applications for subgrants.--A local educational 
 agency that desires to receive a subgrant under this subsection 
 shall submit an application to the State at such time, in such 
 manner, and accompanied by such information as the State may 
 require.
 ``

    (3) Use of subgrant funds.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--
 ``
            (i) Required use.--A local educational 
 agency that receives a subgrant under this 
 subsection shall use the subgrant funds to 
 carry out a program in the elementary schools 
 and secondary schools served by such agency to 
 fund training of school personnel on seizure 
 awareness and preparedness that covers 
 individualized health care plans and 
 individualized emergency health care plans for 
 students who have epilepsy or a seizure 
 disorder.
 ``
            (ii) Permissive uses.--A local 
 educational agency that receives a subgrant 
 under this subsection may use the subgrant 
 funds for--
 ``
            (I) training of school personnel 
 to administer or assist with the 
 administration of seizure medications;
 ``
            (II) training and education of 
 students on seizure awareness and 
 preparedness;
 ``
            (III) recruiting, hiring, and 
 retaining dedicated compliance staff 
 who are responsible for ensuring that 
 all training and program requirements 
 related to seizure awareness, 
 preparedness, and management are 
 consistently met; and
 ``
            (IV) other activities or programs 
 determined appropriate by the 
 Secretary.
 ``
        (B) Information included.--It is recommended that 
 each individualized health care plan and each 
 individualized emergency health care plan include the 
 following information:
 ``
            (i) Written orders from the student's 
 physician or advanced practice nurse outlining 
 the epilepsy or seizure disorder care.
 ``
            (ii) The symptoms of the epilepsy or 
 seizure disorder for that particular student 
 and recommended care.
 ``
            (iii) Full participation in exercise and 
 sports, and any contraindications to exercise, 
 or accommodations that shall be made for that 
 particular student.
 ``
            (iv) Accommodations for school trips, 
 after-school activities, class parties, and 
 other school-related activities.
 ``
            (v) Education of all school personnel 
 about epilepsy and seizure disorders, how to 
 recognize and provide care for epilepsy and 
 seizure disorders, and when to call for 
 assistance.
 ``
            (vi) Medical and treatment issues that 
 may affect the educational process of the 
 student with epilepsy or the seizure disorder.
 ``
            (vii) The student's ability to manage, 
 and the student's level of understanding of, 
 the student's epilepsy or seizure disorder.
 ``
            (viii) How to maintain communication with 
 the student, the student's parent and health 
 care team, the educational staff, and the 
 school nurse.
 ``
            (C) Training required.--
 ``
            (i) In general.--Each local educational 
 agency carrying out a program supported with 
 subgrant funds shall ensure that the school 
 nurse assigned to a particular elementary 
 school or secondary school supported by the 
 program--
 ``
            (I) coordinates the provision of 
 epilepsy and seizure disorder care at 
 such school; and
 ``
            (II) ensures that all staff are 
 trained not less often than every 2 
 years in the care of students with 
 epilepsy and seizure disorders, 
 including staff working with school-
 sponsored programs outside of the 
 regular school day, as provided in 
 individualized health care plans and 
 individualized emergency health care 
 plans.
 ``
            (ii) Instruction.--The training required 
 under clause
            (i) shall include a Department of 
 Education-approved on-line or in-person course 
 of instruction provided by 1 or more nonprofit 
 national organizations that support the welfare 
 of individuals with epilepsy and seizure 
 disorders.
 ``
            (D) School bus drivers.--Each local educational 
 agency carrying out a program supported with subgrant 
 funds shall ensure that each school bus driver who 
 transports a student with epilepsy or a seizure 
 disorder receives notice of the student's condition, 
 information on how to provide care for epilepsy or the 
 seizure disorder, emergency contact information, 
 epilepsy and seizure disorder recognition and first aid 
 training, and parent contact information.
 ``
        (E) Release.--Each local educational agency 
 carrying out a program supported with subgrant funds 
 shall ensure that the school nurse assigned to a 
 particular elementary school or secondary school 
 supported by the program obtains a release from each 
 parent of a student with epilepsy or a seizure disorder 
 who requests an individualized health care plan or an 
 individualized emergency health care plan, to authorize 
 the sharing of medical information between the 
 student's physician or advanced practice nurse and 
 other health care providers.
 ``
        (F) No liability.--No school employee, including 
 a school nurse, a school bus driver, a school bus aide, 
 or any other officer or agent of a local educational 
 agency, shall be held liable for any good faith act or 
 omission consistent with the provisions of this 
 section. Good faith shall not include willful 
 misconduct, gross negligence, or recklessness.
 ``

    (e) Supplement; Not Supplant.--Grant and subgrant funds provided 
under this section shall be used to supplement, not supplant, other 
Federal or State funds available to carry out activities described in 
this section.
 ``

    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $34,500,000 for the period of 
fiscal years 2026 through 2030.''.

    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in 

section 2 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to 

section 4644 the following new items:

 ``Part G--Grant Program To Support Students Who Have Epilepsy or a 
 Seizure Disorder

``

Sec. 4701. Grant program to support students who have epilepsy or a 
 seizure disorder.''.
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