Status: HB0370 – In House W&M Education Subcommittee; SB0225 – In Senate EHEA
Position: Support as Amended
Through Brynleigh’s Act, at least 2 personnel in every school would be trained to provide training to respond to a seizure emergency. The bill would give worried parents peace of mind as there are approximately 8,000 students in the state who experience seizures. The Epilepsy Foundation notes that 1 in 10 people will have a seizure at some point in their lifetime. Critical amendments to the bill removed requirements for student training, address health services professionals’ feedback, and reduce training for school personnel from annually to once every two years. These amendments should satisfy the concerns with the originally drafted version of the bill. Six other states have already adopted similar legislation and many more are currently considering similar legislation.
The American Academy of Pediatrics supports this bill as Seizures are in the top 3 medical emergencies that occur at schools.
Taking Action
We are counting on the members of the Education Subcommittee to do the right thing and vote favorably for HB0370 as amended before we run out of time to move this bill through our legislative process. At least one student recently passed in Maryland after school personnel allegedly did not recognize the student was having a seizure during a school aquatics program. According to the claim, the “[school personnel failed to recognize the boy’s seizure activity before he entered the pool and failed to discontinue the aquatics program after noticing unusual behavior, among other things”
Our students deserve better. Please support Brynleigh’s Act and contact members of W&M and EHEA today to move it out of the committees “Favorable” as amended! Contact information, for committee members, is linked in the table below.
House W&M Committee Members:
Kaiser, Anne R., Chair District 14, Montgomery County | Feldmark, Jessica District 12, Baltimore and Howard Counties | Long, Robert B. District 6, Baltimore County |