ASSEMBLY EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 4676

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  OCTOBER 15, 2026

      The Assembly Education Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 4676.

      As amended, this bill requires a board of education to develop a policy in accordance with guidelines established by the Department of Education for the emergency administration of nasal seizure rescue medication and the emergency use of a manual vagus nerve stimulator on a student with a seizure disorder.  Pursuant to the policy, the school nurse is required to have primary responsibility for the administration of nasal seizure rescue medication.  The certified school nurse is required to designate at least two additional employees of the school district who volunteer to administer the seizure therapies to a student when the school nurse is not physically present at the scene. 

      The certified school nurse is required to ensure that the:

· designees have been properly trained;

· parents of the student consent in writing to the administration of the nasal seizure rescue medication and use of a manual vagus nerve stimulator by the designees;

· parents are informed in writing that the district and its employees have no liability as a result of any injury arising from the administration of the nasal seizure rescue medication and the use of a manual vagus nerve stimulator; and

· parents sign a statement acknowledging their understanding that the district has no liability as a result of any injury arising from the administration of the nasal seizure rescue medication and the use of a manual vagus nerve stimulator.

      The policy developed by the school district would also require:

· the transportation of the student to a hospital emergency room by emergency services personnel after the administration of the nasal seizure rescue medication, if appropriate, and if indicated in the seizure action plan after the use of a manual vagus nerve stimulator.  The bill stipulates certain follow-up actions depending on the manner in which the medication is administered or the manual nerve stimulator is used;

· an alternative plan in the case that a student’s seizure action plan does not permit the administration of nasal seizure rescue medication or the use of a manual vagus nerve stimulator or manual vagus nerve stimulator by a designee; and

· the parent or guardian to provide the prescribed seizure rescue medication or manual vagus nerve stimulator in accordance with the student’s seizure action plan.  Alternatively, if provided for in the seizure action plan, the nasal seizure rescue medication or manual vagus nerve stimulator may be permitted to be carried on the student’s person. 

      The Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Health, appropriate medical experts, and professional organizations representing school nurses, principals, and teachers, is required to establish and disseminate to each board of education guidelines for the development of a policy by a school district for the emergency administration of nasal seizure rescue medication and the use of a manual vagus nerve stimulator on students.  The Departments of Education and Health are also required to jointly develop protocols, in consultation with the New Jersey State School Nurses Association, for the training of additional employees as volunteer designees to administer the seizure therapies when the school nurse is not physically present.

      The bill requires the Department of Education to take appropriate action to ensure that each school district incorporates age-appropriate education on epilepsy and seizure disorders, consistent with the classroom education programs developed by a nonprofit organization that supports the welfare of individuals with seizure disorders, at least once between kindergarten and third grade and at least once between grades six and 12. 

      The bill will take effect one year after enactment, except that the Department of Education may take anticipatory administrative action to implement the bill’s provisions.  This delayed effective date will allow for the development of training protocols for school employees designated by the certified school nurse to administer the nasal seizure rescue medication or use the manual vagus nerve stimulator when the school nurse is not present.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to clarify that the provisions of the bill would not be construed to require a designee of the school nurse to administer nasal seizure rescue medication through any method other than intranasally.  The amendments further clarify that, in the event that a licensed athletic trainer volunteers to administer a nasal seizure rescue medication or use a manual vagus nerve stimulator pursuant to the bill’s provisions, it would not constitute a violation of the “Athletic Training Licensure Act.”