Assistant Majority Leader Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston) passed a bill through the Senate Public Health Committee yesterday that would allow schools to keep and administer epinephrine to students in anaphylactic shock from life-threatening allergic reactions. House Bill 3294 would change current Illinois law that only allows schools to call 911 in cases of students having an anaphylactic reaction to food or other severe allergies.

"Epinephrine can literally save a child’s life by opening their airways until emergency personnel arrive," Schoenberg said. "If a student forgets their own EpiPen, the time delay while awaiting an ambulance can be fatal. Having this medication on hand so a school nurse could administer it if a child is having a severe allergic reaction could make a life-saving difference."

Epinephrine is carried by many people with severe allergies in an auto-injector known as an EpiPen. If a child forgets or misplaces their EpiPen and has a reaction, they need immediate treatment. Anaphylaxis – a severe allergic reaction that can be fatal – needs immediate attention as sufferers’ airways can be blocked.

The number of children with food allergies is on the rise: one in 25 suffers with them, and food allergies are the leading cause of anaphylaxis. Children at school represent twenty-five percent of first-time anaphylactic reactions. This bill would provide school districts and nonpublic schools to authorize giving an EpiPen to a student or allowing authorized personnel to administer an EpiPen to a student if he or she is unable or unconscious. It would also provide liability exemption for school nurses or other authorized school personnel who administer an EpiPen "in good faith" to a student believed to be suffering from anaphylaxis.

Two proponents joined Senator Schoenberg during today’s hearing: Jennifer Jobrack of the Food Allergy Initiative, a non-profit organization on behalf of food allergy research and education, and Alex Soto, a Geneva High School sophomore who carries an EpiPen for her severe food allergies. Both spoke of the benefits of permitting schools to treat students without delay.

"I carry an EpiPen with me at all times because I have severe allergies, so I know first-hand how important it is to have immediate treatment," Schoenberg said. "Considering how many children learn of severe allergies when they have their first bad reaction and how often that occurs at school, this is a sensible change to help schools better care for our children."

The bill is an initiative of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan in response to the death of 13-year-old Katelyn Carlson, a Chicago girl who had an allergic reaction to peanut oil at school shortly before Christmas in 2010. House Bill 3294 now moves to the Senate floor for consideration.