Committee Substitute

for

H. B. 204


(By Mr. Speaker, (Mr. Thompson) and Delegate Armstead)

[By Request of the Executive]

[Originating in the Committee on Education.]

(July 18, 2010)


A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5-17 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to recommending alternative health screenings for students entering public school for the first time in this state and health screenings students entering third grade, sixth grade and ninth grade; defining terms; setting forth certain requirements and prohibitions for county boards of education; prohibiting certain county board actions for failure to comply; requiring promulgation of legislative rules; requiring state board analysis of current infrastructure in place to implement requirements; requiring state board plan for implementing requirements; and requiring reports.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §18-5-17 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.

§18-5-17. Compulsory health screenings by licensed medical provider ; developmental screening for children under compulsory school age.

(a) All children entering public school for the first time in this state shall be given prior to their enrollments screening tests to determine if they might have vision or hearing impairments or speech and language disabilities: Provided, That all children for whom a health screening certificate is provided to the school as provided in subsection (b) of this section shall not again be screened under this subsection prior to entering public school for the first time. County boards of education may provide, upon request, such the screening tests to all children entering nonpublic school. County boards of education shall conduct these screening tests for all children through the use of trained personnel. Parents or guardians of children who are found to have vision or hearing impairments or speech and language disabilities shall be notified of the results of these tests and advised that further diagnosis and treatment of the impairments or disabilities by qualified professional personnel is recommended.
(b) Effective July 1, 2011:
(1) Students entering public school for the first time in this state, students entering third grade, students entering sixth grade and students entering ninth grade are recommended to have a health screening by a licensed medical provider. The health screening shall be limited to examinations for hearing, vision, speech and language, developmental and dental deficits and other health issues requested by the parent or guardian in consultation with the medical provider.
(2) Parents or guardians shall be requested to provide to the school appropriate documentation of a health screening obtained within twelve months prior to the provision of the documentation. The documentation shall be in the form of a health screening certificate and shall be provided within forty-five days of a student entering public school for the first time in this state or within forty-five days of a student entering third, sixth or ninth grade, as applicable.
(3) For the purposes of this section, "health screening certificate" means a document developed by the Department of Education and reported to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability prior to December 1, 2010. The certificate shall be signed by a licensed medical provider verifying that a health screening has been completed and shall include only the following information: Student name, screening date, student height and weight, and whether any referrals were issued for deficits found in the screenings for hearing, vision, speech and language, developmental and dental.
(4) County boards shall:
(A) Coordinate with parents or guardians and community health care providers to ensure that the requirements of this subsection are communicated to all parties;
(B) File all health screening certificates in the student's permanent record file at the school; and
(C) Coordinate with parents or guardians and community health care providers to ensure that suspected deficits identified through a health screening are addressed through referral to specialty healthcare providers, county board student support services or both.
(5) A student may not be refused enrollment or barred from attending the public school for the failure or refusal to obtain a health screening, or for the failure or refusal to disclose the contents of a health screening required under this subsection. Action may not be taken to compel a student's parent or guardian to obtain a health screening for the student or to disclose the contents of a health screening required under this subsection.
(6) A county board shall provide developmental screening for enrolled students if a health screening identifies a suspected deficit. Nothing in this subdivision limits the authority of a teacher in conjunction with the student assistance team to recommend developmental screening.
(b)(c) County boards of education shall provide or contract with appropriate health agencies to provide, upon the request of a parent or guardian residing within the district, developmental screening for their child or children under compulsory school attendance age: Provided, That a county board is not required to provide such developmental screening to the same child more than once in any one school year. Prior to providing the developmental screening, the county board shall provide information on and recommend a health screening as defined in subsection (b) of this section. Developmental screening is the process of measuring the progress of children to determine if there are problems or potential problems or advanced abilities in the areas of understanding language, perception through sight, perception through hearing, motor development and hand-eye coordination, health, and psycho-social or physical development. The boards shall coordinate the provision of developmental screening with other public agencies and the interagency plan for exceptional children under section eight, article twenty of this chapter to avoid the duplication of services and to facilitate the referral of children and their parents or guardians who need other services. The county boards shall provide notice to the public of the availability of these services.
(c) (d) By October 1, 2010, the state board of Education is hereby authorized to shall promulgate legislative rules consistent with this section. The state superintendent is directed to apply for federal funds, if available, for the implementation of the requirements of this section.
(e) The state board and the Department of Health and Human Resources shall collaborate in conducting an analysis of the infrastructure currently in place for implementing the health screening requirements of this section. By December 1, 2010, the state board and the Department of Health and Human Resources shall report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability on the results of their analysis.
(f) The state board shall develop a plan for implementing the health screening requirements of this section, and report the plan to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability by December 1, 2010. The plan shall at least include time and staff efficient methods of filing the health screening certificates. The state board shall report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability on December 1, 2011, on implementation of the requirements of this section.