HOUSE BILL ANALYSIS

                  HB 1843

Title:  An act relating to school inspections.

Brief Description:  Requiring the department of health to establish a process for establishing a fee schedule for school inspections.

Sponsors:  Representatives Honeyford, Clements, Mielke, Koster, Carlson, Hickel, Mitchell, Dunn, Skinner and Mulliken.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Meeting Date:  February 25, 1997.

Bill Analysis Prepared by:  Bronwyn Mauldin (786-7093).

Background:  The State Board of Health is required to adopt rules and standards necessary to protect public health, and is authorized to conduct inspections to ensure they are being followed.  The board has established minimum environmental standards for educational facilities.  These include minimum standards for school plumbing and water supply, sewage disposal, ventilation, temperature control, sound control, lighting, and food handling.  Local health officers conduct periodic inspections of primary and secondary schools in their jurisdiction to ensure compliance with these standards. 

In addition to periodic inspections, the local health officer must conduct a preoccupancy inspection of any new school construction to determine whether it conforms with approved plans and specifications.  Also, a local board of education may request the health officer to survey a proposed school site and submit a written health appraisal of the site.

Further inspections of specific systems in schools are subject to other state and local board of health inspections, either of which may be conducted by local health officers.  These include inspections of the school=s water supply system, on-site sewage disposal systems, and food storage, preparation and service facilities.

Summary of Bill:  The state Department of Health must develop a process by which local health jurisdictions may work cooperatively with local school districts to establish a fee schedule for school inspections.  Local health jurisdictions must also use this process cooperatively with private schools to establish a fee schedule for inspections of private schools.  This process must be established within 30 days of the effective date of this act. 

The process developed must include a requirement that if a local health jurisdiction and local school district are unable to cooperatively come to agreement on the fee schedule, that the fee is limited to $25 per year per school campus for each inspection in the district.

Fiscal Note:  Requested February 19, 1997.

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