Education (School Safety)

HB 462 updates Ohio school health policies to allow schools to stock and administer nasal epinephrine devices for students with severe allergies without requiring a separate prescription for each student. It directly affects students with life-threatening allergies, school nurses, and staff who may need to respond to allergic reactions. The key provision removes the requirement for individual prescriptions per student, enabling schools to maintain a stock of the device for immediate use in emergencies. This change streamlines access to critical treatment during allergic reactions at school. The bill amends existing sections of Ohio's Revised Code governing school health procedures.

To amend sections 3314.03, 3326.11, and 3328.24 and to enact section 3313.475 of the Revised Code and to amend Section 221.20 of H.B. 96 of the 136th General Assembly to require public and chartered nonpublic schools to purchase and install an exterior secure master key box on each school building.

SB 330, the Student Wellness Act, allows Ohio school districts to count mental health days as excused absences for students. This directly affects students who need to miss school for mental health reasons and school districts that implement the policy. The key provision amends school absence rules to explicitly include mental health as a valid reason for excused absences, replacing the need for traditional medical notes. School districts can now adopt this policy without additional legislative approval under the new section 3321.044 of the Revised Code. The law aims to support student well-being by reducing barriers to seeking mental health care.

HB 610 dissolves all existing academic distress commissions overseeing struggling school districts. It repeals the law that allowed for the creation of new commissions, ending the process of designating schools for this oversight. The bill directly affects school districts previously placed under academic distress, removing a state-level intervention mechanism. This change takes effect immediately as the bill declares an emergency.