Senate Bill 752 would expand North Carolina school health laws to allow the use of epinephrine nasal spray in schools, in addition to the existing use of epinephrine auto-injectors. The bill updates the definition of “epinephrine auto-injector/product” in the school medication statutes so it includes nasal sprays and other spring-activated concealed-needle devices, and it revises the school self-administration and emergency stock epinephrine provisions accordingly.
The bill requires local boards of education to continue adopting policies allowing students with asthma or anaphylactic reactions to possess and self-administer prescribed medication, while also ensuring schools maintain a supply of emergency epinephrine products for trained personnel to use in anaphylaxis emergencies. It keeps existing requirements for training, emergency action plans, CPR instruction, and follow-up procedures, and it applies these changes to local school units, charter schools, and regional schools beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
Impact
The bill amends G.S. 115C-375.2 and G.S. 115C-375.2A, and also updates charter school and regional school health-and-safety compliance provisions in G.S. 115C-218.75 and G.S. 115C-238.66. In practical terms, schools would be required to treat epinephrine nasal spray as an acceptable emergency epinephrine product, and school systems would need to ensure their stock supplies, policies, training, and emergency response plans reflect that broader definition. Charter and regional schools would be expressly required to comply with the stock epinephrine rules and provide the necessary supplies.
Sentiment
The bill’s title and structure suggest broad support for making emergency allergy treatment more accessible in schools, especially by adding a needle-free option for children who may be unable or unwilling to use auto-injectors. No committee transcript or vote record is available in the provided materials, so there is no documented floor debate or recorded opposition in this dataset. Overall, the measure appears framed as a student health and safety bill with a practical, medically focused purpose.
Contention
The main policy issue is the expansion from auto-injectors to nasal spray and the resulting need for schools to update procurement, training, and emergency protocols. Potential points of concern would likely involve whether school personnel are adequately trained to use the new product, how local districts will obtain non-patient-specific prescriptions, and whether the broader definition could create implementation or cost issues for charter and regional schools. No specific objections or supporters are recorded in the provided discussion materials.
In school health services, further providing for definitions, for possession and use of asthma inhalers and epinephrine auto-injectors, for school access to emergency epinephrine and for administration of epinephrine auto-injectors by school bus drivers and school crossing guards.
In school health services, further providing for definitions, for possession and use of asthma inhalers and epinephrine auto-injectors, for school access to emergency epinephrine and for administration of epinephrine auto-injectors by school bus drivers and school crossing guards.