Good Afternoon,

CTA needs you to contact your Senator to stop SB 161-Diastat from passing on the floor. Talking points are included below.

Now the hard work begins...this measure, to allow school districts to recruit non-medical school personnel to administer Diastat to pupils, has just passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on a vote of 8-0.  As amended (not in print yet), it  allows school districts to recruit employee volunteers via email notices only.  Senate pro Tempore Darryl Steinberg, verbally supported this amendment indicating the amendment removes the coercion  of school employees to volunteer.  The measure now requires the State Department of Public Health and the State Department of Education, in cooperation, to develop uniform training standards.  Senators Pavley and Price reserved their right to change their vote when it comes up on the Senate floor.  It is imperative that every Senator hear from school employees about their opposition to this proposal.  Talking points include:

*Authorizing non-medical school personnel to administer a prescription medication to students not only weakens existing standards that licensed, appropriated trained health care personnel provide care required of children with disabilities, but will have the unintended consequences of putting even more students at risk by weakening safety measures or advocate for a lesser standard of care that what is both needed and deserved.

*There are no protections from legal and/or financial liability for non-medical school personnel "volunteers" to perform this procedure

Hello- Below is additional information (after the second bullet) regarding SB 161-Diastat. This email contains more talking points as well as the link and directions for how to find your Senator on cta.org.

Now the hard work begins...this measure, to allow school districts to recruit non-medical school personnel to administer Diastat to pupils, has just passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on a vote of 8-0.  As amended (not in print yet), it  allows school districts to recruit employee volunteers via email notices only.  Senate pro Tempore Darryl Steinberg, verbally supported this amendment indicating the amendment removes the coercion  of school employees to volunteer.  The measure now requires the State Department of Public Health and the State Department of Education, in cooperation, to develop uniform training standards.  Senators Pavley and Price reserved their right to change their vote when it comes up on the Senate floor.  It is imperative that every Senator hear from school employees about their opposition to this proposal.  Talking points include:

*Authorizing non-medical school personnel to administer a prescription medication to students not only weakens existing standards that licensed, appropriated trained health care personnel provide care required of children with disabilities, but will have the unintended consequences of putting even more students at risk by weakening safety measures or advocate for a lesser standard of care that what is both needed and deserved.

*There are no protections from legal and/or financial liability for non-medical school personnel "volunteers" to perform this procedure.

*Providing a level of privacy for a student suffering an epileptic seizure is extremely important and may be impossible to accomplish by school personnel who are multi-tasking and having to assume the duties of licensed medical professionals.

*Diastat (valium) is administered rectally to control "cluster" or "breakthrough" seizures only.  There are many types of seizures so it is important to assess what type of episode the student is exhibiting.  Diastat must be administered when a child is seizing.  The rectal syringe is made of hard plastic which could result in the possibility of piercing the rectal cavity during administration.  If the appropriate dosage is not given (if an adult syringe is administered instead of the child syringe) death due to respiratory failure can occur.

*The Legislature has already cut $18 billion from education the last two budget cycles and thousands of school staff have been laid off.  Employees are being asked to do more, with less.  Only licensed, appropriately trained health care personnel  should be providing the high quality of care that is required to assure that not only children with disabilities but all school children have access to a free, fair and appropriate education.

At this time, constituent contacts into local Senate district offices is critical.  It does not matter if it's from teachers, classified employees, their family members, your family members, staff members, friends, etc. particularly registered voters.    Please share this request for help with as many individuals as possible. 

For CTA members and staff who may not know their Senator, log onto www.cta.org.   Click on ISSUES and ACTION in the upper left hand corner, scroll down and click on Legislation and then click on Contact Your Lawmaker in the lower right hand corner.  Please either fax your opposition to the Senator's district office of call the district office, identify yourself as a constituent and express your opposition. 

For non-CTA folks, logged onto http://senate.ca.gov.  At the top of the page click on Senators, scroll to the bottom of the page, click on Find my Senator by your address.