What This Bill Does
This bill creates a grant program where the Secretary of Education gives money to local school districts to buy nebulizers (machines that turn liquid medicine into breathable mist for asthma patients) for elementary and secondary schools. School districts can also use grant money to train staff on how to use the nebulizers properly.
Who It Affects
Local school districts (government agencies that run public schools), elementary and secondary schools, school nurses, parents of students with asthma, emergency services personnel, and students with asthma.
Key Provisions
• The Secretary of Education must run a grant program that gives money to local school districts to purchase nebulizers or provide training on nebulizer use (Sec. 3(a))
• Public and private schools can receive nebulizers through grants, but internet-based or computer-based schools cannot (Sec. 3(b)(2))
• School districts receiving grants must pay at least 25 percent of the grant amount with their own non-federal money, unless they have high poverty rates (Sec. 3(c))
• Schools receiving nebulizers must have a full-time certified school nurse on staff and must tell parents how to provide their child's asthma medicine and authorize nebulizer use (Sec. 3(d))
• The Secretary must prioritize grants to school districts in areas with high asthma rates that do not already have nebulizers in their schools (Sec. 3(e))
What Changes
If this becomes law, money becomes available for school districts to buy nebulizers and train staff to use them, provided schools meet requirements like having a full-time school nurse and notifying parents about the equipment.
Important Definitions
None defined in this bill. The bill refers to definitions in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Sec. 3(f)).
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 245
To establish a grant program for nebulizers in elementary and secondary
schools.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 10, 2023
Ms. JACKSON LEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To establish a grant program for nebulizers in elementary
and secondary schools.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Breath of Fresh Air
4
Act’’.
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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The Congress finds as follows:
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(1) 25,000,000 people, including 7,000,000
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children, have asthma.
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•HR 245 IH
(2) Almost 13,000,000 people report having an
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asthma attack in the past year and asthma accounts
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for nearly 2,000,000 emergency department visits
3
each year.
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(3) Every day in the United States—
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(A) 30,000 people have an asthma attack;
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and
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(B) 11 people die from asthma.
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(4) Nearly 5,000,000 asthma sufferers are
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under 18 years of age, and 1 out of every 10 school-
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aged children has asthma.
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(5) Minorities are adversely affected by asthma,
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as—
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(A) African Americans are 3 times more
14
likely to die from asthma; and
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(B) Hispanics may have an elevated risk
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for exposure to air pollution since a dispropor-
17
tionate number live in areas failing to meet one
18
or more national standards for air pollutants.
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(It is estimated that 80 percent of Hispanics
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live in areas that failed to meet one United
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States Environmental Protection Agency air
22
quality standard, compared to 65 percent of Af-
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rican Americans and 57 percent of Whites.)
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•HR 245 IH
SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR NEBULIZERS.
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(a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Edu-
2
cation shall carry out a program under which the Sec-
3
retary makes grants to local educational agencies, to be
4
used by the local educational agencies for one or both of
5
the following:
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(1) To purchase nebulizers for use in elemen-
7
tary and secondary schools served by the local edu-
8
cational agency.
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(2) To provide training to enable elementary
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and secondary schools served by the local edu-
11
cational agency to meet the requirements of sub-
12
section (d)(1), but only if nebulizers are already in
13
use at such schools or are acquired through this pro-
14
gram.
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(b) ELIGIBILITY.—
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(1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—To be el-
17
igible to receive a grant under this section, a local
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educational agency shall submit an application to
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the Secretary at such time, in such form, and con-
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taining such information as the Secretary may re-
21
quire.
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(2) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS.—
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To be eligible to receive a nebulizer through a grant
24
under this section, a school may be any public or
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private school served by the local educational agency,
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•HR 245 IH
except that an internet- or computer-based commu-
1
nity school is not eligible.
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(c) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIRED.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a
4
grant under this section, the local educational agen-
5
cy must provide matching funds from non-Federal
6
sources equal to not less than 25 percent of the
7
amount of the grant.
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(2) WAIVER.—The Secretary shall waive the re-
9
quirement of paragraph (1) for a local educational
10
agency if the number of children counted under sec-
11
tion 1124(c)(1)(A) of the Elementary and Secondary
12
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)(1)(A)) is
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20 percent or more of the total number of children
14
aged 5 to 17, inclusive, served by the local edu-
15
cational agency.
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(d) TRAINING AND COORDINATION REQUIRED.—A
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local educational agency that receives a grant under this
18
section shall demonstrate that, for each elementary and
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secondary school at which the nebulizers are to be used—
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(1) there is a full-time certified school nurse on
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staff;
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(2) the school has the trained personnel and
23
other resources necessary to use the nebulizers;
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•HR 245 IH
(3) local paramedics and other emergency serv-
1
ices personnel are notified where on school grounds
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the nebulizers are to be located;
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(4) the nebulizer will be integrated into the
4
school’s emergency response plan or procedures; and
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(5) the school has procedures in place to ensure
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that parents are notified of the availability of the
7
nebulizers, how to provide their child’s prescription
8
asthma medication to the school, and how to author-
9
ize use of a nebulizer to assist their child when
10
medically appropriate.
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(e) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this section,
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the Secretary shall give priority to local educational agen-
13
cies—
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(1) having jurisdiction over a geographic area
15
with respect to which the Director of the Centers for
16
Disease Control and Prevention has determined that
17
the prevalence of asthma is at least 10 percent high-
18
er than the national average;
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(2) that do not already have at least one
20
nebulizer in each school served by the local edu-
21
cational agency;
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(3) that serve schools at which a significant
23
number of students, staff, and visitors are present
24
on school grounds during a typical day; and
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•HR 245 IH
(4) that have not received funds under the
1
Rural Access to Emergency Devices Act (42 U.S.C.
2
254c note).
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(f) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms used in this sec-
4
tion shall have the meanings given to such terms in section
5
8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
6
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
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(g) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
8
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
9
such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years
10
2023 through 2028.
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SEC. 4. CONSTRUCTION.
12
Nothing in this Act shall be construed—
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(1) to create liability for use of a nebulizer or
14
affect liability for such use that exists under other
15
law; or
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(2) to supersede a State law regulating nursing.
17
Æ
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