Senate advances bill allowing students to carry and self-apply sunscreen with parental permission

Senator Weeks (senator from Rutland) led the chamber through S187, a one-page bill to permit students to possess and self-apply sunscreen in schools with annual parent or guardian permission and to allow school personnel to assist in applying sunscreen only if they have parental authorization.

"Section 1, sunscreen will join the list of over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, Tums, and others," Weeks said while describing the proposed change and noting the bill’s July 1, 2024, effective date. Weeks argued the change addresses logistical barriers that currently limit access.

Weeks told the Senate that under current practice sunscreen is treated like a physician-prescribed medication and noted the state’s high skin-cancer rates: "Vermont has the second-highest skin cancer rate in the United States," she said, presenting the policy as a preventive measure. She also reported broad committee support and read a list of organizations and individuals who provided testimony in favor of the bill.

During floor questioning a senator asked whether school personnel could assist students in applying sunscreen. Weeks replied, "it's allowable, but only with parent or guardian permission," reiterating the bill's guardrail on staff involvement.

The Senate voted by voice to amend S187 as recommended by the Committee on Health and Welfare and ordered the bill to be read a third time. The chamber did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript on the floor for that action.

The bill’s language places sunscreen alongside other over-the-counter items and limits staff involvement to cases with explicit parental permission; it removes the logistical requirement that sunscreen be physician-prescribed and stored and documented like a prescription drug.