42 U.S. Code § 280g - Children’s asthma treatment grants program

(a) Authority to make grants

(1) In general

In addition to any other payments made under this chapter or title V of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 701 et seq.], the Secretary shall award grants to eligible entities to carry out the following purposes:

(A) To provide access to quality medical care for children who live in areas that have a high prevalence of asthma and who lack access to medical care.

(B) To provide on-site education to parents, children, health care providers, and medical teams to recognize the signs and symptoms of asthma, and to train them in the use of medications to treat asthma and prevent its exacerbations.

(C) To decrease preventable trips to the emergency room by making medication available to individuals who have not previously had access to treatment or education in the management of asthma.

(D) To provide other services, such as smoking cessation programs, home modification, and other direct and support services that ameliorate conditions that exacerbate or induce asthma.

(2) [1] Certain projects

In making grants under paragraph (1), the Secretary may make grants designed to develop and expand the following projects:

(A) Projects to provide comprehensive asthma services to children in accordance with the guidelines of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (through the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute), including access to care and treatment for asthma in a community-based setting.

(B) Projects to fully equip mobile health care clinics that provide preventive asthma care including diagnosis, physical examinations, pharmacological therapy, skin testing, peak flow meter testing, and other asthma-related health care services.

(C) Projects to conduct validated asthma management education programs for patients with asthma and their families, including patient education regarding asthma management, family education on asthma management, and the distribution of materials, including displays and videos, to reinforce concepts presented by medical teams.

(2) ¹ Award of grants

(A) Application

(i) In general

An eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary for a grant under this section in such form and manner as the Secretary may require.

(ii) Required information

An application submitted under this subparagraph shall include a plan for the use of funds awarded under the grant and such other information as the Secretary may require.

(B) Requirement

In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give preference to eligible entities that demonstrate that the activities to be carried out under this section shall be in localities within areas of known or suspected high prevalence of childhood asthma or high asthma-related mortality or high rate of hospitalization or emergency room visits for asthma (relative to the average asthma prevalence rates and associated mortality rates in the United States). Acceptable data sets to demonstrate a high prevalence of childhood asthma or high asthma-related mortality may include data from Federal, State, or local vital statistics, claims data under title XIX or XXI of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq., 1397aa et seq.], other public health statistics or surveys, or other data that the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deems appropriate.

(3) Definition of eligible entity

For purposes of this section, the term “eligible entity” means a public or nonprofit private entity (including a State or political subdivision of a State), or a consortium of any of such entities.

(b) Coordination with other children’s programs

An eligible entity shall identify in the plan submitted as part of an application for a grant under this section how the entity will coordinate operations and activities under the grant with—

(1) other programs operated in the State that serve children with asthma, including any such programs operated under title V, XIX, or XXI of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 701 et seq., 1396 et seq., 1397aa et seq.]; and

(2) one or more of the following—

(A) the child welfare and foster care and adoption assistance programs under parts B and E of title IV of such Act [42 U.S.C. 620 et seq., 670 et seq.];

(B) the head start program established under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.);

(C) the program of assistance under the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC) under section 1786 of this title;

(D) local public and private elementary or secondary schools; or

(E) public housing agencies, as defined in section 1437a of this title.

(c) Evaluation

An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an evaluation of the operations and activities carried out under the grant that includes—

(1) a description of the health status outcomes of children assisted under the grant;

(2) an assessment of the utilization of asthma-related health care services as a result of activities carried out under the grant;

(3) the collection, analysis, and reporting of asthma data according to guidelines prescribed by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and

(4) such other information as the Secretary may require.

(d) Preference for States that allow students to self-administer medication to treat asthma and anaphylaxis

(1) Preference

The Secretary, in making any grant under this section or any other grant that is asthma-related (as determined by the Secretary) to a State, shall give preference to any State that satisfies the following:

(A) In general

The State must require that each public elementary school and secondary school in that State will grant to any student in the school an authorization for the self-administration of medication to treat that student’s asthma or anaphylaxis, if—

(i) a health care practitioner prescribed the medication for use by the student during school hours and instructed the student in the correct and responsible use of the medication;

(ii) the student has demonstrated to the health care practitioner (or such practitioner’s designee) and the school nurse (if available) the skill level necessary to use the medication and any device that is necessary to administer such medication as prescribed;

(iii) the health care practitioner formulates a written treatment plan for managing asthma or anaphylaxis episodes of the student and for medication use by the student during school hours; and

(iv) the student’s parent or guardian has completed and submitted to the school any written documentation required by the school, including the treatment plan formulated under clause (iii) and other documents related to liability.

(B) Scope

An authorization granted under subparagraph (A) must allow the student involved to possess and use his or her medication—

(i) while in school;

(ii) while at a school-sponsored activity, such as a sporting event; and

(iii) in transit to or from school or school-sponsored activities.

(C) Duration of authorization

An authorization granted under subparagraph (A)—

(i) must be effective only for the same school and school year for which it is granted; and

(ii) must be renewed by the parent or guardian each subsequent school year in accordance with this subsection.

(D) Backup medication

The State must require that backup medication, if provided by a student’s parent or guardian, be kept at a student’s school in a location to which the student has immediate access in the event of an asthma or anaphylaxis emergency.

(E) Maintenance of information

The State must require that information described in subparagraphs (A)(iii) and (A)(iv) be kept on file at the student’s school in a location easily accessible in the event of an asthma or anaphylaxis emergency.

(F) School personnel administration of epinephrine or school comprehensive allergies and asthma management program

(i) In general

In determining the preference (if any) to be given to a State under this subsection, the Secretary shall give additional preference to a State that provides to the Secretary the certification described in subparagraph (G) and that requires that each public elementary school and secondary school in the State satisfy the criteria described in clause (ii) or clause (iii).

(ii) Criteria for school personnel administration of epinephrine

For purposes of clause (i), the criteria described in this clause, with respect to each public elementary school and secondary school in the State, are that each such school—

(I) permits trained personnel of the school to administer epinephrine to any student of the school reasonably believed to be having an anaphylactic reaction;

(II) maintains a supply of epinephrine in a secure location that is easily accessible to trained personnel of the school for the purpose of administration to any student of the school reasonably believed to be having an anaphylactic reaction; and

(III) has in place a plan for having on the premises of the school during all operating hours of the school one or more individuals who are trained personnel of the school.

(iii) Criteria for school comprehensive allergies and asthma management program

For purposes of clause (i), the criteria described in this clause, with respect to each public elementary school and secondary school in the State, are that each such school—

(I) has in place a plan for having on the premises of the school during all operating hours of the school a school nurse or one or more other individuals who are designated by the principal (or other appropriate administrative staff) of the school to direct and apply the program described in subclause (II) on a voluntary basis outside their scope of employment; and

(II) has in place, under the direction of a school nurse or other individual designated under subclause (I), a comprehensive school-based allergies and asthma management program that includes—

(aa) a method to identify all students of such school with a diagnosis of allergies and asthma;

(bb) an individual student allergies and asthma action plan for each student of such school with a diagnosis of allergies and asthma;

(cc) allergies and asthma education for school staff who are directly responsible for students who have been identified as having allergies or asthma, such as education regarding basics, management, trigger management, and comprehensive emergency responses with respect to allergies and asthma;

(dd) efforts to reduce the presence of environmental triggers of allergies and asthma; and

(ee) a system to support students with a diagnosis of allergies or asthma through coordination with family members of such students, primary care providers of such students, primary asthma or allergy care providers of such students, and others as necessary.

(G) Civil liability protection law

The certification required in subparagraph (F) shall be a certification made by the State attorney general that the State has reviewed any applicable civil liability protection law to determine the application of such law with regard to elementary and secondary school trained personnel who may administer epinephrine to a student reasonably believed to be having an anaphylactic reaction and has concluded that such law provides adequate civil liability protection applicable to such trained personnel. For purposes of the previous sentence, the term “civil liability protection law” means a State law offering legal protection to individuals who give aid on a voluntary basis in an emergency to an individual who is ill, in peril, or otherwise incapacitated.

(2) Rule of construction

Nothing in this subsection creates a cause of action or in any other way increases or diminishes the liability of any person under any other law.

(3) Definitions

For purposes of this subsection:

(A) The terms “elementary school” and “secondary school” have the meaning given to those terms in section 7801 of title 20.

(B) The term “health care practitioner” means a person authorized under law to prescribe drugs subject to section 353(b) of title 21.

(C) The term “medication” means a drug as that term is defined in section 321 of title 21 and includes inhaled bronchodilators and auto-injectable epinephrine.

(D) The term “self-administration” means a student’s discretionary use of his or her prescribed asthma or anaphylaxis medication, pursuant to a prescription or written direction from a health care practitioner.

(E) The term “trained personnel” means, with respect to an elementary or secondary school, an individual, such as the school nurse—

(i) who has been designated by the school nurse or principal (or other appropriate administrative staff) of the school to administer epinephrine on a voluntary basis outside their scope of employment;

(ii) who has received training in the administration of epinephrine; and

(iii) whose training in the administration of epinephrine meets appropriate medical standards and has been documented by appropriate administrative staff of the school.

(e) Authorization of appropriations

For the purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2001 through 2005.

(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title III, § 399L, as added Pub. L. 106–310, div. A, title V, § 501, Oct. 17, 2000, 114 Stat. 1113; amended Pub. L. 108–377, § 3(a), Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2203; Pub. L. 113–48, § 2, Nov. 13, 2013, 127 Stat. 575; Pub. L. 114–95, title IX, § 9215(kkk)(2), Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 2187; Pub. L. 116–292, § 2, Jan. 5, 2021, 134 Stat. 4896.)

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[1]  So in original. Two pars. (2) have been enacted.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Social Security Act, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1), (2)(B) and (b)(1), (2)(A), is act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, 49 Stat. 620. Parts B and E of title IV of the Act are classified generally to parts B (§ 620 et seq.) and E (§ 670 et seq.), respectively, of subchapter IV of chapter 7 of this title. Titles V, XIX, and XXI of the Act are classified generally to subchapters V (§ 701 et seq.), XIX (§ 1396 et seq.), and XXI (§ 1397aa et seq.), respectively, of chapter 7 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1305 of this title and Tables.

The Head Start Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(B), is subchapter B (§§ 635–657) of chapter 8 of subtitle A of title VI of Pub. L. 97–35, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 499, which is classified generally to subchapter II (§ 9831 et seq.) of chapter 105 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 9801 of this title and Tables.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 399L of act July 1, 1944, was renumbered section 399F and is classified to section 280e–4 of this title.

Amendments

2021—Subsec. (d)(1)(F). Pub. L. 116–292, § 2(1)(B), inserted “or school comprehensive allergies and asthma management program” after “epinephrine” in heading; designated introductory provisions as cl. (i), inserted heading, and substituted “in the State satisfy the criteria described in clause (ii) or clause (iii).” for “in the State—”; inserted cl. (ii) heading and introductory provisions; redesignated former cls. (i) to (iii) as subcls. (I) to (III), respectively, of cl. (ii); added cl. (iii); and realigned margins.

Subsec. (d)(3)(E). Pub. L. 116–292, § 2(2)(A), inserted “, such as the school nurse” after “individual” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (d)(3)(E)(i). Pub. L. 116–292, § 2(2)(B), inserted “school nurse or” before “principal”.

2015—Subsec. (d)(3)(A). Pub. L. 114–95 made technical amendment to reference in original act which appears in text as reference to section 7801 of title 20.

2013—Subsec. (d)(1)(F), (G). Pub. L. 113–48, § 2(1), added subpars. (F) and (G).

Subsec. (d)(3)(E). Pub. L. 113–48, § 2(2), added subpar. (E).

2004—Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 108–377 added subsec. (d) and redesignated former subsec. (d) as (e).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2015 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 114–95 effective Dec. 10, 2015, except with respect to certain noncompetitive programs and competitive programs, see section 5 of Pub. L. 114–95, set out as a note under section 6301 of Title 20, Education.

Effective Date of 2004 Amendment

Pub. L. 108–377, § 3(b), Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2204, provided that:

“The amendments made by this section [amending this section] shall apply only with respect to grants made on or after the date that is 9 months after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 30, 2004].”

Findings of 2004 Amendment

Pub. L. 108–377, § 2, Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2202, provided that:

“The Congress finds the following:

“(1) Asthma is a chronic condition requiring lifetime, ongoing medical intervention.

“(2) In 1980, 6,700,000 Americans had asthma.

“(3) In 2001, 20,300,000 Americans had asthma; 6,300,000 children under age 18 had asthma.

“(4) The prevalence of asthma among African-American children was 40 percent greater than among Caucasian children, and more than 26 percent of all asthma deaths are in the African-American population.

“(5) In 2000, there were 1,800,000 asthma-related visits to emergency departments (more than 728,000 of these involved children under 18 years of age).

“(6) In 2000, there were 465,000 asthma-related hospitalizations (214,000 of these involved children under 18 years of age).

“(7) In 2000, 4,487 people died from asthma, and of these 223 were children.

“(8) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asthma is a common cause of missed school days, accounting for approximately 14,000,000 missed school days annually.

“(9) According to the New England Journal of Medicine, working parents of children with asthma lose an estimated $1,000,000,000 a year in productivity.

“(10) At least 30 States have legislation protecting the rights of children to carry and self-administer asthma metered-dose inhalers, and at least 18 States expand this protection to epinephrine auto-injectors.

“(11) Tragic refusals of schools to permit students to carry their inhalers and auto-injectable epinephrine have occurred, some resulting in death and spawning litigation.

“(12) School district medication policies must be developed with the safety of all students in mind. The immediate and correct use of asthma inhalers and auto-injectable epinephrine are necessary to avoid serious respiratory complications and improve health care outcomes.

“(13) No school should interfere with the patient-physician relationship.

“(14) Anaphylaxis, or anaphylactic shock, is a systemic allergic reaction that can kill within minutes. Anaphylaxis occurs in some asthma patients. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, people who have experienced symptoms of anaphylaxis previously are at risk for subsequent reactions and should carry an epinephrine auto-injector with them at all times, if prescribed.

“(15) An increasing number of students and school staff have life-threatening allergies. Exposure to the affecting allergen can trigger anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis requires prompt medical intervention with an injection of epinephrine.”