Sen. Boudreau’s Senate Bill 26 to develop and distribute type 1 diabetes information to parents and legal guardians via school communications was reported favorably with technical amendments by the House Committee of Health and Welfare on May 20.

Sen. Boudreau said the measure is informational and designed to raise awareness and early detection; he told the committee the Department of Health (LDH) supports the bill and that it would be distributed through schools using existing disease-state bulletin channels. He emphasized the measure does not require new funding.

Richie Edmonds, who testified in support, described a “window of opportunity” to catch signs of type 1 diabetes in young children — symptoms he listed included weight loss, frequent urination, excessive thirst, fatigue, nausea and vomiting — and urged that teachers and coaches who see children daily can help identify warning signs. He said his son was diagnosed as a child and now uses a pump and continuous monitoring.

Representative Butler moved to report the bill favorably; Representative Cruz suggested LDH track identified cases from school referrals to monitor incidence over time, and Juliette Sasse, Office of Public Health chief medical officer (speaking for the department in place of Dr. Abraham), said the department can “put that on our radar” and welcomed working with members to define tracking language if needed.

The chair called for objections and, hearing none, reported SB 26 favorably with the committee’s technical amendments. Support was recorded via green cards from pediatric and health-system organizations including the Louisiana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Ochsner Health.