MADISON, WI (March 22, 2024) – Statement of Molly Collins, Director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association in Wisconsin, in response to Governor Evers signing AB 914, that will allow schools in Wisconsin to stock asthma medications for student use.
“The American Lung Association thanks Representative Snyder and Senator James for being the lead authors, the legislature for passing, and Governor Evers for signing Assembly Bill 914 which will allow schools in Wisconsin to provide more immediate access to medications for students with asthma. Specifically, the bill allows schools to maintain a supply of asthma medications, which students with asthma or who are in respiratory distress can use if necessary. Asthma can be a deadly disease if flare-ups are not treated immediately, so this bill has the potential to save lives for schools that take advantage of this authority.
“Asthma impacts millions of lives and has a tremendous impact on our nation’s healthcare system and economy. In the U.S., over 25 million Americans, including 5.1 million children have asthma. In Wisconsin, 50,725 children have asthma. Asthma is also responsible for more than $80 billion annually in economic costs and causes more than 5.2 million missed school days and 8.7 million missed days of work nationwide.”
“Now that this law has been passed, the American Lung Association encourages schools in Wisconsin to take the next step and put in place policies that allow the school to stock asthma medications. The American Lung Association as part of its Asthma Medications in Schools project has a set of materials on this topic that may provide assistance on its public website Lung.org.”
