HCR 206 Summary

• Requests the Department of Education to report on the feasibility of stocking short-acting bronchodilators (albuterol inhalers) in schools for emergency respiratory distress and authorizing DOE employees to volunteer to administer them.

• Over 110,000 Hawaii residents have asthma, with approximately one-third being children, resulting in 5,000 emergency room visits and 1,500 hospitalizations annually costing the state approximately $18.2 million.

• Report must include information on fifteen states that have already passed legislation allowing schools to stock bronchodilators and details on how those programs have been implemented.

• Department of Education must work with community partners including the American Lung Association, Hawaii State Center for Nursing, and Hawaii Medical Association to develop the report.

• DOE must submit findings, recommendations, and any proposed legislation to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the 2024 Regular Session.