While Friday, May 2, was the last scheduled day of the 2025 legislative session, I’ll still be making trips to Des Moines next week as we head into overtime: there are several budget compromises we need to come to before we officially end the 2025 session. This week’s focus was on wrapping up several other issues that have been focal points throughout the past few months. I was thrilled that this week, two of the bills that I’ve advocated for all session passed through the Senate.
House File 835: Seizure Safe Schools
Monday, April 28, was a day five years in the making. Since I took office, I have introduced and supported legislation that creates seizure safe schools, and last week, that cause took one step closer to becoming law.
On Monday, the Senate passed House File 835, a bill that ensures that schools are well-equipped to provide a safe environment for students living with epilepsy and other seizure disorders. To create this safe learning environment, HF 835 does the
following:
• Requires all Iowa schools to have at least one staff member trained to assist with seizure medications starting in the 2025-2026 school year.
• Requires all school staff receive biennial training on how to recognize and respond to seizures by the end of 2026.
• Provides for parents or guardians to work with schools to create an individual seizure action plan for a student (school districts and agents who act in good faith and in compliance with said plan will be protected from liability).
I want to note that these individualized action plans are important because epilepsy is different from person to person; these plans fit the unique needs of each student, so they are properly cared for and protected.
• Directs the Department of Education to create a work group to review and improve school health care training, with a report due to the general assembly, governor, and state board of education by December 1, 2025.
This bill has always been more than policy for me. My nephew, Wyatt, was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was one year old, and when he reached the age of three, was diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome. Dravet Syndrome is a rare form of epilepsy characterized by frequent and
prolonged seizures, which often resulted in Wyatt needing a visit to the emergency room to stop his seizures. This diagnosis also meant that the probability of Wyatt having a seizure at school was extremely high.
Luckily, through the encouragement of his parents, Wyatt’s elementary school staff ended up taking a free one-hour training course offered through the Epilepsy Foundation—a training they have continued for the past five years. This training has ultimately helped school staff recognize and respond to seizures, understand the different types of seizures Wyatt might suffer, and know the proper administration of medication. Despite the unpredictability of his diagnosis, the implementation of this training gave Wyatt the chance to learn, make friends, and “be a kid,” because this training allowed Wyatt to attend school safely.
Wyatt isn’t the only child living with epilepsy in Iowa though, and many of these other children aren’t as lucky as
Wyatt: handfuls of schools will not voluntarily implement seizure training programs. That is why the passage of HF 835 is so important. It does for all 4,400 students living with epilepsy in Iowa what Wyatt’s school did for him: it keeps them safe, protected, and able to attend school. It saves lives.
As the floor manager for HF 835, I am incredibly proud to have had the opportunity to introduce this bill to my colleagues and share Wyatt’s story with the entirety of the Senate on Monday. It is so important to show Iowa families that their children’s safety matters and that they deserve the same opportunities to learn and grow as any other student.
With the bill passing unanimously, we are now one step closer to this bill becoming law. It is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.
Senate File 383: Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) Reform
Another topic that has been a focal point of this legislative session has been pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform.
PBMs are intermediaries between drug manufacturers, pharmacies, and insurance companies. In this role, PBMs negotiate prices, manage formularies, and process claims between these different parties. PBMs have a lot of unchecked power, however, and this power can often prove harmful for Iowa patients and rural pharmacies.
That is why Senate File 383 is so important: it regulates that unchecked power by adding various restrictions on PBM actions. Under SF 383, the following prohibitions now apply to PBMs:
• Cannot restrict a covered person from selecting a pharmacy or pharmacist of choice
• Cannot deny a pharmacy or pharmacist from participating in a health benefit plan
• Cannot unreasonably designate a prescription drug as a specialty drug to prevent a covered person’s access to said drug
• Cannot require a covered person to purchase pharmacy services exclusively through a mail order pharmacy
• Cannot keep any rebates received by drug companies; this money must be given to the insurance company or employer to help lower premiums
With rising health care costs being a significant concern across the state, SF 383 helps address high costs for patients who frequent local Iowa pharmacies. It also means that rural pharmacies—which suffer the most because of PBMs—are better protected and accessible for rural Iowans.
This bill passed the Iowa Senate on Monday and now goes to the Iowa House.
As mentioned, the upcoming weeks will prove crucial in establishing our state’s budget. If you have any questions or budgetary concerns, please feel free to reach out. It is such an honor to serve District 46.