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4. Seizure Action Plans

What a Seizure Action Plan (SAP) is

A Seizure Action Plan is a short, written document that tells school staff exactly what to do for one specific student. It is completed by the family together with the student's healthcare provider, then filed at school and shared with the staff who work with that student.

A SAP turns "someone is having a seizure, what do we do?" into "follow Maria's plan: it lasts about a minute, give rescue med if over 4 minutes, call mom at this number."

What goes in a SAP

  • Student and contacts: name, photo (optional), parents/guardians, emergency contacts, healthcare provider.
  • This student's seizures: what they usually look like, how long they last, known triggers, what the student is like afterward.
  • What staff should do: basic seizure first aid steps, tailored notes for this student.
  • Emergency thresholds: when to call 911 for this student (may differ from the general 5-minute rule).
  • Rescue medication (if prescribed): name, dose, when to give it, who is trained to give it, where it is stored, and whether to call 911 after giving it.
  • Signatures and review date: parent, provider, school nurse; reviewed at least yearly.

The medical parts come from the provider

School staff should never fill in medications, doses, or emergency thresholds generically. Those come from the student's licensed healthcare provider. The school's role is to follow the plan.

Use an official, ready-made form (including translations)

You do not need to design your own. Free, official templates exist, several in multiple languages (English, Spanish, Hmong, Somali):

  • Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota: https://www.epilepsyfoundationmn.org/get-support/seizure-smart-trainings/
  • National Epilepsy Foundation forms: https://www.epilepsy.com/tools-resources/forms-resources/seizure-forms
  • Seizure Action Plan Coalition (multilingual examples): https://seizureactionplans.org/sap-examples/
  • Minnesota Department of Health toolkit: https://www.health.state.mn.us/people/childrenyouth/schoolhealth/hco/seizures.html

For districts: make it easy to find

One of the simplest, highest-impact things a district can do is post a SAP template on its health-services web page so families can find and complete it. Our data shows most Minnesota districts do not. EDAN's free district packet includes a ready template and drop-in policy language to make this quick and ready to use.

Next: see the data on how many districts actually post a plan.