A. Any school principal or other employee of a school board who, in good faith, without compensation, and in the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct, supervises the self-administration of inhaled asthma medications or auto-injectable epinephrine by a student, pursuant to § 22.1-274.2, shall not be liable for any civil damages for acts or omissions resulting from the supervision of self-administration of inhaled asthma medications or auto- injectable epinephrine by such student. Further, no such principal or school board employee shall be liable for any civil damages for any injuries or deaths resulting from the misuse of such auto-injectable epinephrine.
§ 8.01-226.5:1.Civil immunity for school board employees supervising self-administration of certain medication.
Chapter 3. Actions · Article 21. Miscellaneous Provisions · Last amended 2005 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-226.5:1 immunizes a school principal or other school-board employee who, in good faith, without compensation, and absent gross negligence or willful misconduct, supervises a student’s self-administration of inhaled asthma medication or auto-injectable epinephrine under § 22.1-274.2, including for injuries from a student’s misuse of the epinephrine device.
Full Text of § 8.01-226.5:1
B. For the purposes of this section, "employee" shall include any person employed by a local health department who is assigned to a public school pursuant to an agreement between a local health department and a school board.
Plain-English Summary
Virginia law lets students with asthma or severe allergies carry and self-administer their own inhalers or epinephrine auto-injectors at school, under § 22.1-274.2. This section protects the school staff who supervise that self-administration: a principal or other school-board employee is immune from civil damages for acts or omissions in supervising a student’s self-administration of inhaled asthma medication or auto-injectable epinephrine, as long as the supervision was in good faith, uncompensated, and free of gross negligence or willful misconduct. The immunity specifically extends to injuries or deaths resulting from a student’s own misuse of the epinephrine device.
Subsection B broadens who counts as a covered “employee”: it includes a local health department employee assigned to a public school under an agreement between the health department and the school board, so school-based health staff placed through that kind of arrangement get the same protection as school-board employees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a school principal protected from liability if a student self-administers their asthma inhaler under supervision?
Yes, as long as the supervision was in good faith, without compensation, and absent gross negligence or willful misconduct. Section 8.01-226.5:1 immunizes the principal or other school-board employee from resulting civil damages.
What if a student misuses their epinephrine auto-injector under a staff member’s supervision?
The statute specifically addresses this — the supervising principal or employee is not liable for civil damages for injuries or deaths resulting from the student’s misuse of the auto-injectable epinephrine.
Does this immunity depend on a specific statute authorizing student self-administration?
Yes. It applies to supervision of self-administration “pursuant to § 22.1-274.2,” Virginia’s statute allowing students to carry and self-administer certain asthma and anaphylaxis medications at school.
Who counts as an “employee” for purposes of this immunity?
Subsection B clarifies it includes a person employed by a local health department who is assigned to a public school under an agreement between that health department and the school board, in addition to school-board employees generally.
What conduct falls outside this immunity?
Gross negligence or willful misconduct in supervising the student’s self-administration of the medication.
Amendment History
2000, c. 871; 2005, c. 785.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: school self administered epipen immunity virginiastudent inhaler supervision liability virginiaschool principal epinephrine immunity virginia code22.1-274.2 immunity virginia