On May 8, 2019, HB 1401 was referred to the House Education Committee. The bill would require one school nurse for every 750 students, one school psychologist for every 500 students, and a school counselor and social worker for every 250 students. In essence, the proposed legislation would cut the maximum ratio of students to school nurses in half and establish minimum staffing requirements for other professionals who work with students.

Current PA law requires schools to have one nurse for every 1,500 students and sets no minimum for school psychologists, school counselors, and social workers.

Increasing the number of school counselors and mental health professionals was a recommendation made by Governor Wolf’s School Safety Task Force.

Although PAPSA recognizes the need for increased staff in these areas, concerns voiced by PASPA President Tom Burnheimer include the need for added funds to help pay for the additional staff, as well as the shortage of school nurses, counselors, and school psychologists that is currently being experienced throughout the Commonwealth.

HB 1415, a bipartisan bill being introduced in the PA House, is  aimed at creating trauma-informed school environments throughout the state in order to help ensure that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are recognized in the school setting so children can get the support they need. The bill would require trauma-informed policies and procedures (including such things as positive behavior supports, restorative justice, and resiliency), as well as training for school staff, new school board members, and even postsecondary students pursuing a degree in education.

According to Rep. Christina Sappey, one of the bill’s sponsors, “[t]his legislation would help teachers and staff in schools to get the training they need to recognize the signs of childhood trauma and assist in overcoming the hurdles students face in school due to the severe impacts on their brain development and functionality, as revealed by decades of research.”

An identical bill is being introduced in the PA Senate.

Thanks to Media News group for information contained in this story.

On Friday, May 10, 2019, Jill Clodgo, RN,  Chief, Division of School Health, Pennsylvania Department of Health released the May 2019 School Health Update. Highlights from the Report include:

• Welcome to William “Bill” Deemer RN who is now the school health nurse consultant for the NW and SW districts. He can be contacted at 724-830-2701 or [email protected].  
• Mylan reports they have resumed accepting “EpiPen 4 Schools” order requests at https://www.epipen4schools.com/Register/ or 973-845-7600 or [email protected].
• Continuous Glucose Monitoring Guidelines
• Blood Borne Pathogen (BBP) Exposure Plans as per Act 96 with important info available at https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/school/Pages/Environmental.aspx and https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/school/Pages/All-Hazard-PlanningToolkit.aspx
• The Physical and Dental exam forms on the Division’s website are now ADA compliant and can be read by a screen reader https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/school/Pages/Physical-Exams.aspx and https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/school/Pages/Dental-Health.aspx
• Child Abuse Education and Training (Act 31 of 2014), which is required every two (2) years for RN license renewal. The list of approved trainings is located at https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/school/Pages/Abuse.aspx
• School health statistics by county up to the 2016-17 school year have been posted to the website at https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/school/Pages/Statistics.aspx
• School Health Inquiries – the website a valuable resource
• Non-School Health questions should be directed to the appropriate entities. An extensive listing is available in the update.
• School Health Annual Reimbursement Request System (SHARRS) must be submitted by the School Superintendent/CEO no later than September 30 of each year. Schools that do not submit the report timely may forfeit their reimbursement. See https://apps.health.pa.gov/SHARRS/Login.aspx

The complete report can be accessed at https://papsa-web.org/wp-content/uploads/2019-School-Health-Update-May-2019.pdf.

On Wednesday, May 8th, in the spirit of creating a safer and healthier school environment for Pennsylvania’s schoolchildren, a 14-bill “Beyond Safe Schools” package has been proposed by legislators. Those legislators – all democrats – are proposing an increase in funding to hire school staff that are primarily in the pupil services field (i.e., counselors, school nurses and social workers). School librarians are also included in the funding proposal.

One bill is offering a bill to cut in half the student-to-school nurse ratio from the current 1,500:1 to 750:1. Another bill would increase funding to schools that serve students who are homeless, chronically absent, and in foster care; would fund a study to determine a means whereby schools can measure the number of students experiencing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and trauma in their lives; and would provide funding for pupil services staff (e.g., social workers and psychologists)  to help afflicted students.

Other bills in the package would increase training requirements for school police officers and security officers; mandate pediatricians to do depression screenings, reporting the number of suicides and attempted suicides on school grounds to the PA Office of Safe Schools; and require instruction regarding bullying prevention and cultural diversity.