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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
House Bill 3813
Sponsored by Representative NERON
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced.The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: Authorizes ODE to award grants to school districts and ESDs to improve school nursing
services. (Flesch Readability Score: 61.8).
Authorizes the Department of Education to award grants to school districts and education ser-
vice districts for the purpose of developing, implementing and annually updating a health services
plan.
Directs the Department of Education to establish and administer a pilot program for regional
support of school nursing services.
Declares an emergency, effective July 1, 2025.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to grants for school nursing services; and declaring an emergency.
Whereas school nursing is a required school service under the Individuals with Disabilities Ed-
ucation Act and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 for students who experience disabili-
ties; and
Whereas in this state, 27.7 percent of children are impacted by a chronic disease, 9.7 percent
of children are impacted by a complex chronic disease and 18.0 percent of children are impacted by
a noncomplex chronic disease; and
Whereas in 2024, 22 percent of school districts in this state had no access to a school nurse;
and
Whereas in 2024, 67 percent of school districts in the 10 frontier counties reported no school
nursing services, which meant that 9,695 students in those counties had no access to school nursing
services; and
Whereas the lack of school nursing services in the frontier counties statistically means that
students without access to school nursing services included 824 students with asthma, 737 students
with severe allergic reactions, 68 students with seizures, 39 students with diabetes and up to 1,939
students with mental health conditions; and
Whereas the lack of school nursing services in frontier counties statistically means that nursing
services were not available to 465 students who are medically complex because they may have an
unstable health condition and may require daily professional nursing services and 68 students who
are medically fragile because they may have a life-threatening health condition and may require
immediate professional nursing services; and
Whereas the statewide ratio of school nurses to the general population of students is 1 to 2,843,
which is almost four times more than the recommended ratio of one school nurse to every 750 stu-
dents established by statute; and
Whereas only 17 percent of school districts in this state meet the statutory recommendation of
one school nurse for every 750 students; and
NOTE:Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 3745 HB3813
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Whereas school nurses play a pivotal role in improving the health and well-being of children and
adolescents by providing health promotion, health counseling, referrals to other sources of help,
active treatment, education, family support, care coordination and multiagency work; and
Whereas school nurses play a key role in improving the health of students with asthma and
diabetes;and
Whereas school nurses frequently are the first school staff members to identify students with
symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression and other behavioral and mental health challenges; and
Whereas the presence of a school nurse is associated with a decrease in absenteeism and related
to an increase in academic achievement; and
Whereas school nurses possess the skills and judgment to identify and address the structural
and systemic barriers that impact the attainment of safe, supportive and equitable school environ-
ments that contribute to a student’s ability to achieve wellness and academic success; and
Whereas action needs to be taken to strengthen school nursing services in this state; now,
therefore,
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. Section 2 of this 2025 Act is added to and made a part of ORS chapter 327.
SECTION 2.(1) In addition to those moneys distributed through the State School Fund,
the Department of Education shall award grants to school districts and education service
districts for the purpose of developing, implementing and annually updating a health services
plan for the students of the school district or the education service district.
(2) Grants awarded under this section must be used by a school district or an education
service district to enter into a contract with a nonprofit school nursing professional organ-
ization that is based in this state and that has expertise in the delivery of school nursing
services. The contract must require the school nursing professional organization to provide
technical assistance related to:
(a) Developing and updating a health services plan, including registration requirements;
(b) Improving the collection of data used for acuity assessments; and
(c) Designing and implementing systems to provide school nursing services, including
student care coordination.
(3) When awarding grants under this section, the department shall prioritize school dis-
tricts and education service districts that, based on rules adopted by the State Board of
Education, are in:
(a) Rural or frontier regions; and
(b) Regions with inadequate school nursing services.
SECTION 3. (1) The Department of Education shall establish and administer a pilot pro-
gram for regional support of school nursing services.
(2) Under the program, the department shall distribute grants to education service dis-
tricts for the purpose of providing regional support in the delivery of school nursing services,
including student care coordination, to component school districts, as defined in ORS 334.003.
(3) Regional support in the delivery of school nursing services shall be provided to com-
ponent school districts by:
(a) A school nurse, as defined in ORS 342.455, who is employed by the education service
district; and
(b) School nursing service providers who are under contract with the education service
district, including trained registered nurses who serve the communities of the component
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school districts and nurse-led telehealth providers.
(4) Grants awarded under this section must be used by an education service district to
enter into a contract with a nonprofit school nursing professional organization that is based
in this state and that has expertise in the delivery of school nursing services. The contract
must require the school nursing professional organization to provide technical assistance
relatedto:
(a) Completing an assessment of the school nursing services provided by component
schooldistricts.
(b) Facilitating the collaborative design of a school nursing services model for the edu-
cation service district.
(c) Training school nursing service providers and related partners in delivering school
nursingservices.
(d) Collecting through electronic health records systems and student information sys-
tems the following nonpersonally identifiable information for each component school district:
(A) The dispensation of students who accessed school nursing service during the school
day, including whether the student returned to class or went home;
(B) Information about communicable disease outbreaks;
(C) The number of visits made by students for school nursing services and the number
of contacts made with nurse-led telehealth providers;
(D) The number and types of health screenings provided to students;
(E) The student immunization rate;
(F) Patterns of school attendance, including chronic absenteeism and early releases for
healthreasons;
(G) Patterns of academic achievement; and
(H) Patterns of behavior incidents.
(5) The department shall select two education service districts for participation in the
pilot program. When selecting education service districts, the department shall prioritize
education service districts that, based on rules adopted by the State Board of Education, are
in:
(a) Rural or frontier regions; and
(b) Regions with inadequate school nursing services.
(6) No later than September 15, 2027, the department shall submit a report on the pilot
program and the data collected under subsection (4)(d) of this section in the manner provided
by ORS 192.245, and may include recommendations for legislation and administrative rules,
to:
(a) The interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to education and health
care; and
(b) The State Board of Education.
SECTION 4. Section 3 of this 2025 Act is repealed on January 2, 2028.
SECTION 5.This 2025 Act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this 2025 Act takes effect
July 1, 2025.
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