H-1002 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL NO. 821
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 50th Legislature 1987 Regular Session
By Representatives Peery, Ebersole, Ferguson, Sutherland and P. King
Read first time 2/11/87 and referred to Committee on Education.
AN ACT Relating to wellness programs for school district employees; creating new sections; making an appropriation; and providing an expiration date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature believes that improved health among school district employees will result in lower absenteeism, better morale, higher retention rates, and greater employee productivity. A substantial amount of illness can be prevented by persons having healthier lifestyles. The legislature intends to develop model wellness programs for school employees by establishing pilot wellness program projects in selected school districts.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall, during the 1987-89 biennium, select school districts to participate in the wellness program pilot project which is hereby established. Proposals may be submitted by individual districts or by groups of districts. Grants of not less than ten dollars per year per full-time-equivalent employee may be made to selected districts from funds appropriated by the legislature for this purpose.
(2) Wellness programs may include:
(a) Dissemination of information on health topics;
(b) Educational programs;
(c) Health appraisals and fitness testing;
(d) Providing counseling and referrals on problems affecting job performance;
(e) Stress management programs;
(f) Exercise programs; or
(g) Any other activities to improve the physical or mental health of school district employees or to prevent the occurrence of health problems.
(3) Participation in wellness programs in the districts selected shall be open to all district employees, but shall be entirely voluntary. Individual employees' participation in any counseling services, and all personal information gathered in the process of conducting the wellness program, shall be held in strict confidence, shall not be available to the employee's employer, and shall not in any way jeopardize any employee's job security, promotional opportunities, or other employment rights.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The sum of seventy-five thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of this act.