OKLAHOMA CITY ( KFOR ) — A 2019 bill signed by Governor Stitt authorized schools to stock emergency asthma inhalers in schools as a precaution for students. Last year, lawmakers secured new funding to put enough inhalers in every district in the state. However, they now claim that funding is being withheld.
The bill was created in partnership with the Brendon McLarty foundation in memory of 16-year-old Brendon McLarty, who died from an asthma attack at school.
The McLarty Foundation provides asthma awareness and has been using private funding to stock emergency inhalers at most schools for the last few years.
They were hoping the new state funding secured last year would allow them to expand to every district in Oklahoma and stock emergency inhalers for students.
“We are currently in 356 districts across the state of Oklahoma,” said Jennifer Blair, the Executive Director of the Brendon McLarty Memorial Foundation.
The McLarty Foundation said they’ve given thousands of inhalers to schools since they started their endeavor in 2019.