School Transportation Safety Legislation Passes House

HARTFORD – State Representative Bill Buckbee (R-New Milford) co-sponsored and voted in favor of legislation that will require providers of school transportation to provide various training to school bus drivers on life threatening food allergies. Specifically, the training will include the correct way to administer epinephrine, or “epi-pens” from a cartridge. The bill received overwhelming bi-partisan support and will now head to the Senate for further action.

Buckbee stated, “I have a very dear friend with children who have severe allergies, Nick and Braydon. They were on my mind today when we debated the merits of this bill along with all of our youth in the community. One of the biggest misconceptions about nut or certain food allergies is that they can be airborne, meaning a child does not necessarily need to ingest the food to have a reaction. In close quarters on a bus, having a trained adult to react in an emergency situation could be the difference between life and death of a student.”

According to Buckbee, the bill provides immunity from civil liability to bus drivers who provide an emergency administration of epinephrine by a cartridge injector to certain students, limiting any excessive costs associated with its implementation. Most of the training curriculum is available on-line, meaning most school districts will be able to distribute the training electronically.

“I’m not a fan of mandates, but I am a huge fan of this bill because it will save lives. Common sense should be the main factor in dictating the policies made by our state government and this legislation serves as a great example of that. There are many misconceptions about the dangers of food allergies, but with the passage of this bill there is an added layer of protection for children traveling to and from school,” explained Rep. Buckbee.

The Senate must act on the bill prior to the conclusion of the legislative session, on May 9th, for it to become law.

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