HOUSE BILL REPORT

                 SHB 1650

                      As Passed House:

                        March 8, 1999

Title:  An act relating to school nurses.

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

Sponsors:  By 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:

Education:  2/15/99, 2/16/99 [DPS].

Floor Activity:

Passed House:  3/8/99, 97-0.

           Brief Summary of Substitute Bill

$Public and private schools may administer oral medications prescribed by licensed health care professionals prescribing within the scope of the professionals' authority.  This language replaces the current restriction to prescriptions by physicians and dentists only.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  Signed by 14 members:  Representatives Quall, Democratic Co-Chair; Talcott, Republican Co-Chair; Haigh, Democratic Vice Chair; Schindler, Republican Vice Chair; Carlson; Cox; Keiser; Rockefeller; Santos; D. Schmidt; Schual-Berke; Stensen; Sump and Wensman.

Staff:  Susan Morrissey (786-7111).

Background:

Public school districts and private schools are permitted but not required to administer oral medications to students, if certain statutory requirements are met.

Before administering oral medications:

CSchool boards in the public schools and governing boards or chief administrators in the private schools are required by law to adopt policies that determine which school employees may administer the medications to students.  The policies must address the acquisition of requests and instructions from the students' parents and from dentists and physicians.   The policies must also address instructions for students who need medication for more than 15 consecutive school days.

CThe boards are required to seek advice from physicians or nurses in the development of these policies.

CThe  private schools or public school districts must have a written request from a parent or legal guardian of the student.

CThe school districts or private schools must have a current, written, unexpired request from a licensed physician or dentist, with instruction for the administration of the medication for students who require medication for more than 15 consecutive work days.

CThe governing board of the district or the private school has designated an employee to administer the medications.

CThe medications must be examined by the employee responsible for its administration.  The examination is intended to ensure that the medication is in its original container and is properly labeled.

CThe governing board has designated a registered nurse or advance registered nurse to train and supervise the employees responsible for the administration of the medication.

Summary of Bill:

In the law governing the administration of oral medications to students in public and private schools,  references to prescriptions, requests, and instructions from a "licensed physician or dentist" are replaced by  the same from a  "licensed health care professional prescribing within the scope of his or her prescriptive authority".

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

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

Testimony For:  (Original bill) Under current law, certain nurse practitioners and naturopaths have the authority to write certain prescriptions.  This legislation would allow schools to provide those prescriptions to students who need to take them during the school day.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  Rep. Cody, prime sponsor; and Joan Yoshitomi, Superintendent of Public Instruction.