2ESSB 5100 -
By Committee on Education
ADOPTED 03/06/2008
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 28A.210
RCW to read as follows:
(1) By August 1, 2008, the superintendent of public instruction
shall solicit and select up to six school districts to implement, on a
pilot project basis, this section. The selected school districts shall
include districts from urban and rural areas, and eastern and western
Washington.
(2) Beginning with the 2008-09 school year, as part of a public
school's enrollment process, each school participating as a pilot
project shall annually inquire whether a student has health insurance.
The school shall include in the inquiry a statement explaining that an
outreach worker may contact families with uninsured students about
options for health care coverage. The inquiry shall make provision for
the parent or guardian to authorize the sharing of information for this
purpose, consistent with state and federal confidentiality
requirements.
(3) The school shall record each student's health insurance status
in the district's student information system.
(4) By December 1, 2008, from the district's student information
system, the pilot school shall develop a list of students without
insurance for whom parent authorization to share information was
granted. To the extent such information is available, the list shall
include:
(a) Identifiers, including each student's full name and date of
birth; and
(b) Parent or guardian contact information, including telephone
number, e-mail address, and street address.
(5) By September 1, 2008, the department and superintendent shall
develop and make available a model agreement to enable schools to share
student information in compliance with state and federal
confidentiality requirements.
(6) By January 1, 2009, each participating pilot school and a local
outreach organization, where available, shall work to put in place an
agreement to share student information in accordance with state and
federal confidentiality requirements. Once an agreement is in place,
the school shall share the list described in subsection (4) of this
section with the outreach organization.
(7) The outreach organization shall use the information on the list
to contact families and assist them to enroll students on a medical
program, in accordance with chapter 74.09 RCW.
(8) By July 1, 2009, pilot schools shall report to the
superintendent of public instruction:
(a) The number of students identified without health insurance
under subsection (2) of this section; and
(b) Whether an agreement as described under subsection (6) of this
section is in place.
(9) By December 1, 2009, the department and the superintendent
shall submit a joint report to the legislature that provides:
(a) Summary information on the number of students identified
without insurance;
(b) The number of schools with agreements with outreach
organizations and the number without such agreements;
(c) The cost of collecting and reporting data;
(d) The impact of such outreach efforts they can quantify; and
(e) Any recommendations for changes that would improve the
efficiency or effectiveness of outreach efforts described in this
section.
(10) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this
section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(a) "Department" means the department of social and health
services.
(b) "Superintendent" means the superintendent of public
instruction.
(c) "Outreach organization" means a nonprofit organization or a
local government entity either contracting with the department pursuant
to chapter 74.09 RCW, or otherwise qualified to provide outreach,
education, and enrollment services to uninsured children.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 If specific funding for the purposes of this
act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by
June 30, 2008, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and
void."
Correct the title.
EFFECT: Delays the selection of the pilot schools to August rather than July 2008. Requires a single report from the pilot schools and OSPI rather than annual reports. Includes in the OSPI report information about the cost of collecting and reporting data.