Bill on Seizure Safe Schools Advances to General Assembly

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Senate Bill 1322, known as the Jamie and Brie Strong Act, makes its way to the Virginia General Assembly after passing the Senate in a 35-4 vote last week. The legislation, introduced by teens and epilepsy warriors Jamie Van Cleave and Brie Gersick, seeks to make schools better prepared in the event of a student having a seizure.

“This bill is of critical importance, because there exists no standard for how to treat seizures in our schools,” said Suzanne Bischoff, CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation of Virginia. “Passing this law will ensure that parents and teachers are on the same page regarding student safety.”

The bill requires that all school nurses and staff receive biennial training in seizure recognition and first aid response. Schools will also be asked to carry seizure action plans for students with a history of epilepsy or a seizure disorder. Seizure action plans contain detailed information for seizure treatment including what U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved medications to use. Lastly, the bill contains a Good Samaritan Clause for those responding to the seizure.

Epilepsy affects 11,000 school children in Virginia, but of course, anyone can have a seizure at any time. In fact, the Epilepsy Foundation estimates that 1 in 10 people will experience a seizure in their lifetime. Senator Bill DeSteph, 8th District of Virginia, amended the bill’s language to reflect this after a previous iteration of the bill stalled in the General Assembly last year.

"The bill itself is really just an overall [protection for] any type of seizure. Like, any student can have a seizure," said Jamie Van Cleave. "So [school personnel] knowing how to respond to the most common ones - then there are less injuries, fatalities and stuff like that."

If SB 1322 is passed and signed, Virginia would join states like Illinois, New Jersey, and Texas in enacting the Epilepsy Foundation’s Seizure Safe School policy.

Virginia residents can contact their delegate and urge them to support the bill with the click of a few buttons by using the Epilepsy Foundation’s Take Action email templates. One of the templates links directly to members of the Education Committee, which will decide whether the bill moves to a full chamber vote.

The Epilepsy Foundation of Virginia (EFVA) leads the fight to overcome the challenges of living with epilepsy and accelerate therapies that save lives. Established in 1978, the foundation promotes awareness and provides assistance to the 84,800 Virginians living with epilepsy. Learn more at www.epilepsyva.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.