For Arizona children, this is not just a childhood game. Rather, they are faced (sometimes daily) with frightening episodes of gasping to get air. I'm told that these asthma attacks are like drowning on dry land. You breath in, but no air gets to your desperately starving cells. For these innocent kids, the welcome "puff puff" of their trusty inhaler is all that gives them respite from an episode and confidence in their ability to keep up with daily activities. Sadly, some schools in the state have forbidden their students from keeping their inhalers with them while on campus or while at school-sponsored events. For kids that walk or bike to school, this prevents them from even having it in their backpacks for fear of expulsion if caught with the "contraband" inhaler. While I appreciate the spirit of the "Zero Tolerance" policies our school districts have adopted, I think we all agree this has gone too far.
And, when I say "we all agree" I truly mean that. The entire body of the Arizona House of Representatives voted to give school kids permission to carry their inhalers. I sponsored this bill, and many talented people helped me to tweak the language in order to build a better law that keeps kids safe and allows the schools to know who has inhalers on campus. Now the bill is on to the senate and will be heard in the Education Committee, hopefully sometime soon. If the Governor signs the bill into law, it will be in effect for the 2005-2006 school year.
