Are Illinois Schools Required to Stock EpiPens?
Posted by Brian Crowley on September 10, 2012
With guest blogger Darcy Kriha
We have received an unusually large number of calls from school districts over the past few weeks concerning the administration of EpiPens® in schools. The relevant Illinois statute was amended over one year ago, on August 15, 2011. So why the sudden uptick in calls? It turns out that the local media extensively covered a press conference held on August 13 by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan at Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital, urging Illinois school districts to acquire Epinephrine Auto-Injectors (EpiPens®) to administer to students who experience anaphylactic shock at school.
The big question: are schools required to stock EpiPens®? The answer is no – the statute is permissive, not mandatory. We are aware that a handful of school districts decided to obtain extra EpiPens® to administer to students in case of an emergency, even in situations where the student does not have a known allergy. Policy revisions, notice to parents, staff certifications, filling of prescriptions, etc., are all issues that need to be addressed and discussed with counsel if a district chooses to stock EpiPens®.
If you are looking for more information, the Attorney General’s Office website contains a comprehensive and well written summary of the Emergency Epinephrine Act (P.A. 97-0361; 105 ILCS 5/22-30) along with three ‘fact sheets’ directed to parents, physicians, and schools.