HB549

HB549, the Westyn Bryan Mandrell Act, requires a school district to make at least one suitable airway-clearance device available at each district campus—but only when the district can obtain it through a device donation in its original packaging, or through purchase or lease using money appropriated or donated for that purpose. It is not an unconditional instruction for every campus to buy a device from ordinary funds. The device must be appropriate for most students on that campus; the principal must consider where students primarily eat when choosing its storage location. Final law.

Where a required device is stored, the district must ensure a campus or district employee trained in its proper use is present whenever a substantial number of students are there. Storage and use must follow manufacturer specifications and applicable law. Districts may solicit gifts, grants and donations. The provision does not create a new liability or cause of action against districts or their officers/employees, or waive the immunities identified in the act. It defines an airway-clearance device as a noninvasive device capable of removing or helping remove a foreign-body airway obstruction; it does not prescribe a brand or give clinical instructions.

A separate provision permits school districts, open-enrollment charter schools and private schools to contract with a vendor for respiratory-distress medication, related equipment, and training for personnel and volunteers already authorized to administer that medication. This contracting permission has a broader school scope than the district-campus device requirement. The bill was signed and took effect June 20, 2025; it applies beginning with the 2025–2026 school year. History.