804.5 - Stock Epinephrine Prescription Medication

The Forest City Community School District seeks to provide a safe environment for students, staff, and visitors who are at risk of potentially life-threatening incidents including severe allergic reactions and opioid overdose. Therefore, it is the policy of the district to annually obtain a prescription for epinephrine auto-injectors and opioid antagonists from a licensed healthcare professional, in the name of the school district, for administration by a school nurse or personnel trained and authorized to administer to a student or individual who may be experiencing an anaphylactic reaction or acute opioid overdose.

Procurement and maintenance of supply: The district shall stock a minimum of the following for each attendance center:

• One pediatric dose and one adult dose epinephrine auto-injector; 
• One dose of opioid antagonist.

The supply of such medication shall be maintained in a secure, dark, temperature-controlled location in each school building. 

The School Nurse shall routinely check stock of medicine and document in a log monthly:

• The expiration date;
• Any visualized particles; or
• Color change.

The employee shall be responsible for ensuring the district replaces, as soon as reasonably possible, any logged epinephrine auto-injector or opioid antagonist that is used, close to expiration, or discolored or has particles visible in the liquid.

Training: A school nurse or personnel trained and authorized may provide or administer any of the medications listed in this policy from a school supply to a student or individual if the authorized personnel or school nurse reasonably and in good faith believes the student or individual is having an anaphylactic reaction or acute opioid overdose. Training to obtain a signed certificate to become personnel authorized to administer an epinephrine auto-injector or opioid antagonist shall consist of the requirements established by law.

Authorized personnel will be required to provide a procedural skills demonstration to the school nurse demonstrating competency in the administration of stock epinephrine auto-injectors or opioid antagonists to retain authorization to administer these medications if the following occur:

• Failure to administer an epinephrine auto-injector or opioid antagonist to a student or individual by proper route, failure to administer the correct dosage, or failure to administer an epinephrine auto-injector or opioid antagonist according to generally accepted standards of practice ("medication error"); or
• Accidental injection of an epinephrine auto-injector into a digit of the authorized personnel administering the medication ("medication incident").

Reporting: The district will contact emergency medical services (911) immediately after a stock epinephrine auto-injector or opioid antagonist is administered to a student or individual. The school nurse or authorized personnel will remain with the student or individual until emergency medical services arrive.

Within 48 hours, the district will report to the Iowa Department of Education:

• Each medication incident with the administration of stock epinephrine or opioid antagonist;
• Each medication error with the administration of stock epinephrine or opioid antagonist; or
• The administration of a stock epinephrine auto-injector or opioid antagonist.

As provided by law, the district, board, authorized personnel or school nurse, and the prescriber shall not be liable for any injury arising from the provision, administration, failure to administer, or assistance in the administration of an epinephrine autoinjector or opioid antagonist provided they acted reasonably and in good faith.

The superintendent may develop an administrative process to implement this policy.
 

 

Legal Reference:
Iowa Code §§ 135.185; 190, 279.8.
281 I.A.C. 14.3.

Cross Reference:
507.2 Administration of Medication to Students

Approved: 3-17-16
Reviewed: 1-9-23
Revised: 1-9-23