Action Alert on SB 161 (Huff) Diastat Injections by Unlicensed Classified School Employees

Your immediate assistance is needed.  Next week SB 161, the bill that will allow unlicensed classified employees and teachers to volunteer to inject Diastat to epileptic students, will be voted on by the full Assembly.

 As you know, Diastat is valium that is injected rectally to a child while they are having a seizure.  Diastat also has to be injected wherever the child is having the seizure, and that could be on the playground, in the lunchroom, on a school bus or anywhere on the school campus.  It is very likely the injection will be done in the presence of other children and school employees.

We need you to call your Assembly Member and ask for a “NO” vote on this bill.  You can find out who your legislator is and his/her phone number by going to the following link: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

We also want to give special recognition for those Assembly Members who already took a stance with CSEA and either voted “NO” or abstained on SB 161.  We would ask that you call them and thank them for their vote on SB 161.

Please make sure you use the following points when you contact your Assembly Member: 

• I am a classified school employee and I strongly oppose SB 161.  This bill allows unlicensed school employees to rectally inject Diastat to a child who is having a seizure. 
• Diastat should only be administered by appropriately licensed and trained medical professionals like Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVNs). 
• Not only does this bill ask unlicensed school employees to rectally inject Diastat, it also asks them to perform medical assessments.  Only emergency medical professionals should decide if a child, who has been injected with Diastat, can go back to class or needs to go to the hospital.  This is not something unlicensed classified school employees should be doing. 
• I ask that the Assembly Member please oppose this bill on the Assembly Floor. 

Thank you for making these important calls in opposition to SB 161 (Huff).

If you wish to comment or would like additional information, please contact: Dave Low, Executive Director; Jai Sookprasert, Assistant Director, Governmental Relations; Dolores Duran-Flores, Legislative Advocate; Steve Henderson, Legislative Advocate; Joshua Golka, Legislative Advocate, 1127 11th Street, Suite. 346, Sacramento, California  95814.  Toll Free: (800) 867-2026.

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