SENATE BILL REPORT

                  SHB 1650

              As Reported By Senate Committee On:

            Health & Long‑Term Care, April 1, 1999

                  Ways & Means, April 5, 1999

Title:  An act relating to school nurses.

Brief Description:  Expanding the health professionals who may request administration of oral medication at school.

Sponsors:  House Committee on Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Cody, Talcott, Ruderman, Wood, Quall, Boldt, Stensen, Rockefeller, Parlette, O'Brien, Kenney and Keiser).

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  Health & Long‑Term Care:  3/18/99 4/1/99 [DPA-WM, DNPA].

Ways & Means:  4/5/99 [DP].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH & LONG-TERM CARE

Majority Report:  Do pass as amended and be referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

  Signed by Senators Thibaudeau, Chair; Deccio, Johnson and Winsley.

Minority Report:  Do not pass as amended.

  Signed by Senators Wojahn, Vice Chair; Costa and Franklin.

Staff:  Rhoda Jones (786-7198)

SENATE COMMITTEE ON WAYS & MEANS

Majority Report:  Do pass.

  Signed by Senators Loveland, Chair; Bauer, Vice Chair; Brown, Vice Chair; Fairley, Fraser, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Long, McDonald, Rasmussen, Rossi, B. Sheldon, Snyder, Spanel, West, Winsley and Zarelli.

Staff:  Bill Freund (786-7441)

Background:  Public and private schools provide oral medications to students during the school day according to requirements set forth in federal and state law.

Schools administer oral medications to students if they receive a request from parents, accompanied by instructions, with proper identification of the medication to be administered and a means for safekeeping the medication.

Under current state law, schools can only honor requests for oral medications if they come from a licensed physician or dentist.

There is an increasing number of school-age children who receive prescriptions from licensed physician assistants and advanced registered nurse practitioners.  Current law does not permit schools to use prescriptions written by these practitioners to administer oral medications to students.

Summary of Bill:  Public and private schools may administer medications to students if the request for medication comes from any licensed health professional prescribing within the scope of their prescribing authority.

Summary of Bill (as amended by Health & Long-Term Care):  Public and private schools may administer medications to students if the request for medication comes from any licensed health professional prescribing within the scope of their prescribing authority.

School employees hired prior to the effective date of this bill who are not nurses may file a letter with the district refusing to administer oral medications.  School employees hired after the effective date of this bill may file a letter of refusal to administer oral medications unless it is part of their job description.

Administering oral medications may not be used as part of the collective bargaining process for school employees.  Employees whose job description does not include administration of oral medications may not be paid additional compensation for doing so.

Health & Long-Term Care Amended Bill Compared to Substitute Bill:  School employees hired prior to the effective date of this bill who are not nurses may file a letter with the district refusing to administer oral medications.  School employees hired after the effective date of this bill may file a letter of refusal to administer oral medications unless it is part of their job description.

Administering oral medications may not be used as part of the collective bargaining process for school employees.  Employees whose job description does not include administration of oral medications may not be paid additional compensation for doing so.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  Schools need to be able to accept prescriptions from other health professionals than doctors and dentists.  Classified employees are being asked to administer too many different classes of medications and this has become a safety issue.

Testimony Against or Concerns:  This is a bad idea if it increases the number of oral medications administered in schools.  There may not be enough personnel in districts willing to administer oral medications and districts will have to contract for such services.

Testified (Health & Long-Term Care):  PRO:  Jeff Larsen, Academy of Physician Assistants; Marilyn Fern, SNOW; Ann Simons, SNOW; Doug Nelson, PSE (concerns).

Testified (Ways & Means):  Karen Davis, Superintendent of Public Instruction (concerns), Doug Nelson, Public School Employees (concerns).