Asthma Inhalers in Schools: Rights of Students with Asthma to a Free Appropriate Education
Sherry Everett Jones, PhD, JD, MPH and
Lani Wheeler, MD
The authors are with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Atlanta, Ga.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Sherry Everett Jones, PhD, MPH, JD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy NE, Mail Stop K-33, Atlanta, GA 30341 (e-mail: sce2{at}cdc.gov).
Students who possess and self-administer their asthma medicationscan prevent or reduce the severity of asthma episodes. In manystates, laws or policies allow students to possess and self-administerasthma medications at school.
In the absence of a state or local law or policy allowing publicschool students to possess inhalers and selfmedicate to treatasthma, 3 federal statutes may require public schools to permitthe carrying of such medications by students: the IndividualsWith Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the RehabilitationAct of 1973, and Title II of the Americans with DisabilitiesAct. Local policies and procedures can be based on these federallaws to ensure that students with asthma can take their medicinesas needed.
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