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Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 14, 2025
Seizure Awareness and Preparedness Act
This bill directs the Department of Education to award competitive grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for carrying out a program that supports elementary and secondary students who have epilepsy or a seizure disorder. Specifically, LEAs must use these subgrants to train school personnel on seizure awareness and preparedness that covers individualized health care plans and individualized emergency health care plans for students who have epilepsy or a seizure disorder.
People & committees
Rep. Norcross, Donald [D-NJ-1] · D–NJ
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Apr 13, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-03-14 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Seizure Awareness and Preparedness Act would create competitive federal grants to states, which would pass funding to local education agencies to support students with epilepsy or seizure disorders. Participating schools would train staff to recognize and respond to seizures, including following students’ individual care plans. The bill would authorize $34.5 million for fiscal years 2026–2030; that authorization would not itself provide the money.
This Act may be cited as the Seizure Awareness and Preparedness Act.
The Secretary shall award grants to States, on a competitive basis, to enable the States to award subgrants to local educational agencies to carry out a program that supports students with epilepsy and seizure disorders in schools.
ensures that all staff are trained not less often than every 2 years in the care of students with epilepsy and seizure disorders, including staff working with school-sponsored programs outside of the regular school day, as provided in individualized health care plans and individualized emergency health care plans.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $34,500,000 for the period of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
Section 2 would add the grant program to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. States would apply to the Secretary for competitive grants and use the money for subgrants—grants passed through to local education agencies. Local agencies would apply to their states; the Secretary and states would set their respective application requirements.
Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
The Secretary shall award grants to States, on a competitive basis, to enable the States to award subgrants to local educational agencies to carry out a program that supports students with epilepsy and seizure disorders in schools.
A State that desires to receive a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may require.
A State that receives a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to award subgrants to local educational agencies
A local educational agency that desires to receive a subgrant under this subsection shall submit an application to the State at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the State may require.
An individual health care plan would describe a student's needed school health services. An individual emergency plan would give directions for particular emergencies. Both would be developed by the student's health care provider in consultation with the parent, other appropriate treating professionals, and the school nurse, and signed by the provider, parent, and nurse.
The term individualized emergency health care plan means a document developed by a student's health care provider, in consultation with the parent of a student with epilepsy or a seizure disorder, other appropriate medical professionals who may be providing epilepsy or seizure disorder care to the student, and the school nurse, which outlines a set of procedural guidelines that provide specific directions about what to do in a particular emergency situation and is signed by the health care provider, the parent, and the school nurse.
The term individualized health care plan means a document developed by a student's health care provider, in consultation with the parent of a student with epilepsy or a seizure disorder, other appropriate medical professionals who may be providing epilepsy or seizure disorder care to the student, and the school nurse, which is consistent with the recommendations of the student's health care provider and which sets out the health services needed by the student at school and is signed by the health care provider, the parent, and the school nurse.
Local agencies receiving subgrants would have to fund seizure awareness and preparedness training for personnel in the elementary and secondary schools they serve. Training would have to cover individual health care and emergency care plans.
A local educational agency that receives a subgrant under this subsection shall use the subgrant funds to carry out a program in the elementary schools and secondary schools served by such agency to fund training of school personnel on seizure awareness and preparedness that covers individualized health care plans and individualized emergency health care plans for students who have epilepsy or a seizure disorder.
Recipients could also fund staff training on administering or helping administer seizure medication, seizure education for students, dedicated staff to ensure program requirements are met, and other activities approved by the Secretary. These would be permitted uses, rather than required expenditures.
A local educational agency that receives a subgrant under this subsection may use the subgrant funds for— (I) training of school personnel to administer or assist with the administration of seizure medications; (II) training and education of students on seizure awareness and preparedness; (III) recruiting, hiring, and retaining dedicated compliance staff who are responsible for ensuring that all training and program requirements related to seizure awareness, preparedness, and management are consistently met; and (IV) other activities or programs determined appropriate by the Secretary.
The bill recommends, rather than requires, that each care plan include medical orders, the student's symptoms and recommended care, guidance on exercise and sports—including medical reasons to avoid exercise or needed adjustments—and accommodations for trips and other school activities.
It is recommended that each individualized health care plan and each individualized emergency health care plan include the following information: (i) Written orders from the student’s physician or advanced practice nurse outlining the epilepsy or seizure disorder care. (ii) The symptoms of the epilepsy or seizure disorder for that particular student and recommended care. (iii) Full participation in exercise and sports, and any contraindications to exercise, or accommodations that shall be made for that particular student. (iv) Accommodations for school trips, after-school activities, class parties, and other school-related activities.
The recommended plan contents also address educating school personnel, treatment issues affecting education, the student's understanding and ability to manage the condition, and communication among the student, family, health care team, educational staff, and school nurse.
It is recommended that each individualized health care plan and each individualized emergency health care plan include the following information:
(v) Education of all school personnel about epilepsy and seizure disorders, how to recognize and provide care for epilepsy and seizure disorders, and when to call for assistance. (vi) Medical and treatment issues that may affect the educational process of the student with epilepsy or the seizure disorder. (vii) The student’s ability to manage, and the student’s level of understanding of, the student’s epilepsy or seizure disorder. (viii) How to maintain communication with the student, the student’s parent and health care team, the educational staff, and the school nurse.
Participating local agencies would have to ensure that each supported school's assigned nurse coordinates seizure care and ensures all staff receive training at least every two years. This includes staff working in school-sponsored programs outside the regular school day.
Each local educational agency carrying out a program supported with subgrant funds shall ensure that the school nurse assigned to a particular elementary school or secondary school supported by the program— (I) coordinates the provision of epilepsy and seizure disorder care at such school; and (II) ensures that all staff are trained not less often than every 2 years in the care of students with epilepsy and seizure disorders, including staff working with school-sponsored programs outside of the regular school day, as provided in individualized health care plans and individualized emergency health care plans.
Required training would have to include an online or in-person course approved by the Department of Education and provided by one or more national nonprofit organizations supporting people with epilepsy and seizure disorders.
The training required under clause (i) shall include a Department of Education-approved on-line or in-person course of instruction provided by 1 or more nonprofit national organizations that support the welfare of individuals with epilepsy and seizure disorders.
Participating local agencies would have to give each bus driver transporting a student with epilepsy or a seizure disorder notice of the condition, care instructions, seizure recognition and first aid training, and emergency and parent contact information.
Each local educational agency carrying out a program supported with subgrant funds shall ensure that each school bus driver who transports a student with epilepsy or a seizure disorder receives notice of the student’s condition, information on how to provide care for epilepsy or the seizure disorder, emergency contact information, epilepsy and seizure disorder recognition and first aid training, and parent contact information.
When a parent requests an individual health care or emergency care plan, the participating agency would have to ensure that the assigned school nurse obtains the parent's authorization for medical information to be shared between the student's physician or advanced practice nurse and other health care providers.
Each local educational agency carrying out a program supported with subgrant funds shall ensure that the school nurse assigned to a particular elementary school or secondary school supported by the program obtains a release from each parent of a student with epilepsy or a seizure disorder who requests an individualized health care plan or an individualized emergency health care plan, to authorize the sharing of medical information between the student's physician or advanced practice nurse and other health care providers.
School employees and local education agency officers or agents would receive protection from liability for good-faith actions or failures to act consistent with the proposed section. The protection would exclude willful misconduct, gross negligence, and recklessness.
No school employee, including a school nurse, a school bus driver, a school bus aide, or any other officer or agent of a local educational agency, shall be held liable for any good faith act or omission consistent with the provisions of this section. Good faith shall not include willful misconduct, gross negligence, or recklessness.
Grant money would have to add to, rather than replace, other federal or state funding available for the activities covered by the program.
Grant and subgrant funds provided under this section shall be used to supplement, not supplant, other Federal or State funds available to carry out activities described in this section.
The bill would authorize Congress to provide $34.5 million for the entire fiscal year 2026–2030 period, rather than that amount each year. This is permission for future appropriations, not an appropriation that supplies funding.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $34,500,000 for the period of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated April 13, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Education and Workforce on March 14, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-04-13T15:07:45Z. 2025-03-14: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. 2025-03-14: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-03-14. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; it does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials or resolve formal earmark status.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied text contains a limited liability exemption and a restricted provider category for mandatory training. Both relate to the main program; identifying them is not a judgment about their justification.
School employees and local education agency officers or agents would receive a program-related liability exemption for good-faith actions or omissions consistent with the section. Willful misconduct, gross negligence, and recklessness would remain outside that protection.
No school employee, including a school nurse, a school bus driver, a school bus aide, or any other officer or agent of a local educational agency, shall be held liable for any good faith act or omission consistent with the provisions of this section. Good faith shall not include willful misconduct, gross negligence, or recklessness.
The required training course would be reserved to national nonprofit organizations supporting people with epilepsy and seizure disorders, subject to Department of Education approval. This gives that provider category a preferred role in delivering mandatory program training; the clause does not name an organization or guarantee a payment.
The training required under clause (i) shall include a Department of Education-approved on-line or in-person course of instruction provided by 1 or more nonprofit national organizations that support the welfare of individuals with epilepsy and seizure disorders.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Apr 13, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI