Arizona law lets students get some medicines without parent permission

PHOENIX — Arizona students will now be able to get some medications at school without permission from their parents or guardians.

Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday signed SB 1026, which allows staff members at district, charter and private schools to give students certain medications without first notifying parents, but only if there’s an emergency. The bill does not define what an emergency is.

Those medications listed in the bill are an inhaler for asthma, an EpiPen injection for allergies and Naloxone for opioid overdoses.

“It will give our kids the protections they need in school if they have an asthma or allergy attack,” said state Sen. Heather Carter, who sponsored the bill.

The bill was passed 41-18 in the House and 28-1 in the Senate.

Among the bill’s supporters were the Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the American Lung Association in Arizona.

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