Booker Introduces Seizure Awareness and Preparedness Act to Support Students with Epilepsy Nationwide

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced legislation that would create a grant program to support students who have epilepsy or a seizure disorder. The Seizure Awareness and Preparedness Act would authorize funding to ensure all students nationwide are surrounded by trained and prepared individuals in the event of a seizure. U.S. Representatives Donald Norcross (D-NJ-01), Don Bacon (R-NE-02), Jim Costa (D-CA-21), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-AL) introduced companion bipartisan legislation in the House.

In 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law the first-of-its-kind in New Jersey “Paul’s Law,” named in honor Paul St. Pierre, a New Jersey teenager with epilepsy. This legislation authorized the development of individualized health care plans for students with seizure disorders or epilepsy, and it mandates that school personnel are trained in how to care for students with such conditions.

About half of the states in the country have passed similar legislation to mandate or encourage seizure recognition and first aid training of school personnel, as well as other provisions to help ensure students with epilepsy are safe and supported in the school environment. The Seizure Awareness and Preparedness Act would continue this momentum by authorizing funding to help ensure all students nationwide are surrounded by trained and prepared individuals.

“We must equip our schools with the resources they need so school personnel can be trained and prepared in the event that someone has a seizure,” said Senator Booker. “Students with epilepsy deserve to go to school without fear, and I am proud to introduce legislation which builds on the progress of states like New Jersey so we can create safer environments for our children to thrive.”

The grants provided by the Seizure Awareness and Preparedness Act could be used for:

Training of school personnel to administer or assist with the administration of seizure medications.

Training and education of students on seizure awareness and preparedness.

Recruiting, hiring, and retaining compliance staff who are responsible for ensuring that all training and program requirements related to seizure awareness, preparedness, and management are consistently met.

Seizures are spontaneous surges in uncoordinated electrical activity in the brain that affect body movement or function, sensation, behavior or awareness. It is estimated that 1 in 10 Americans will have at least one seizure in their lifetime. Epilepsy is a common neurological condition characterized by recurring seizures and is believed to develop in 1 out of 26 people in their lifetime. There are approximately 470,000 children and teenagers living with active epilepsy in the United States.

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