| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 305 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To authorize the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program |
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| 6 | 6 | | to assist local educational agencies with ensuring that each elementary |
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| 7 | 7 | | and secondary school has at least one registered nurse on staff. |
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| 8 | 8 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 9 | 9 | | JANUARY9, 2025 |
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| 10 | 10 | | Ms. W |
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| 11 | 11 | | ILSONof Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to |
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| 12 | 12 | | the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Com- |
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| 13 | 13 | | mittee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently deter- |
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| 14 | 14 | | mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions |
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| 15 | 15 | | as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned |
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| 16 | 16 | | A BILL |
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| 17 | 17 | | To authorize the Secretary of Education to carry out a |
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| 18 | 18 | | grant program to assist local educational agencies with |
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| 19 | 19 | | ensuring that each elementary and secondary school has |
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| 20 | 20 | | at least one registered nurse on staff. |
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| 21 | 21 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 22 | 22 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 24 | 24 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘One School, One Nurse 4 |
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| 25 | 25 | | Act of 2025’’. 5 |
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| 26 | 26 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Feb 01, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H305.IH H305 |
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| 27 | 27 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 |
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| 28 | 28 | | •HR 305 IH |
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| 29 | 29 | | SEC. 2. PURPOSE; FINDINGS. 1 |
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| 30 | 30 | | (a) P |
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| 31 | 31 | | URPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to assist 2 |
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| 32 | 32 | | States and local educational agencies with ensuring that 3 |
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| 33 | 33 | | every elementary and secondary school has at least one 4 |
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| 34 | 34 | | full-time registered nurse on staff, and to maintain rec-5 |
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| 35 | 35 | | ommended nurse-to-student ratios, including through the 6 |
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| 36 | 36 | | recruitment, hiring, and retention of registered nurses. 7 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (b) F |
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| 38 | 38 | | INDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 8 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (1) According to the American Academy of Pe-9 |
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| 40 | 40 | | diatrics, every elementary and secondary school 10 |
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| 41 | 41 | | should have at least one full-time registered nurse 11 |
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| 42 | 42 | | on staff. 12 |
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| 43 | 43 | | (2) According to the National Center for Edu-13 |
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| 44 | 44 | | cation Statistics, during the 2015–2016 school year, 14 |
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| 45 | 45 | | only about half of all public schools had a full-time 15 |
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| 46 | 46 | | registered nurse and nearly 20 percent did not have 16 |
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| 47 | 47 | | any nurse on staff. Schools with higher free or re-17 |
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| 48 | 48 | | duced-price lunch program eligibility rates had lower 18 |
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| 49 | 49 | | rates of school nurses. 19 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (3) According to the Georgetown University 20 |
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| 51 | 51 | | Center for Children and Families, in 2019, roughly 21 |
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| 52 | 52 | | 6 percent of children in the United States were un-22 |
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| 53 | 53 | | insured. 23 |
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| 54 | 54 | | (4) For children who lack health care coverage, 24 |
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| 55 | 55 | | a school nurse is often a critical source of health 25 |
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| 56 | 56 | | services. 26 |
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| 58 | 58 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 |
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| 59 | 59 | | •HR 305 IH |
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| 60 | 60 | | (5) Studies suggest that schools with a full-time 1 |
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| 61 | 61 | | registered nurse experience far-reaching benefits in-2 |
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| 62 | 62 | | cluding fewer student absences, students spending 3 |
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| 63 | 63 | | more time in class, more accurate medical records, 4 |
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| 64 | 64 | | higher immunization rates, fewer student preg-5 |
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| 65 | 65 | | nancies, and better health outcomes for students 6 |
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| 66 | 66 | | with asthma or diabetes. 7 |
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| 67 | 67 | | (6) School nurses play a critical role in helping 8 |
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| 68 | 68 | | to manage the chronic physical, emotional, mental, 9 |
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| 69 | 69 | | and social health needs of students, conduct health 10 |
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| 70 | 70 | | screenings, facilitate vaccinations and immunization 11 |
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| 71 | 71 | | compliance efforts, reduce burdens on educators and 12 |
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| 72 | 72 | | other school staff, and support a positive and 13 |
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| 73 | 73 | | healthy school climate. 14 |
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| 74 | 74 | | SEC. 3. ONE SCHOOL, ONE NURSE GRANT PROGRAM. 15 |
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| 75 | 75 | | (a) G |
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| 76 | 76 | | RANTPROGRAMAUTHORIZED.—Not later than 16 |
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| 77 | 77 | | 12 months after the date of enactment of this section, the 17 |
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| 78 | 78 | | Secretary shall establish a program to award grants, on 18 |
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| 79 | 79 | | a competitive basis, to eligible entities to carry out the 19 |
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| 80 | 80 | | activities under subsection (d). Grants awarded under this 20 |
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| 81 | 81 | | section shall be for a period of 5 years. 21 |
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| 82 | 82 | | (b) A |
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| 83 | 83 | | PPLICATION.—An eligible entity desiring a grant 22 |
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| 84 | 84 | | under this section shall submit an application to the Sec-23 |
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| 85 | 85 | | retary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 24 |
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| 86 | 86 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Feb 01, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H305.IH H305 |
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| 87 | 87 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 |
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| 88 | 88 | | •HR 305 IH |
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| 89 | 89 | | information as the Secretary may require. Such applica-1 |
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| 90 | 90 | | tion shall include— 2 |
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| 91 | 91 | | (1) a needs assessment of the eligible entity 3 |
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| 92 | 92 | | that demonstrates the existence of persistent short-4 |
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| 93 | 93 | | ages of school nurses or persistent shortages of full- 5 |
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| 94 | 94 | | time school nurses; 6 |
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| 95 | 95 | | (2) a description of the health and wellness 7 |
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| 96 | 96 | | needs of the student population served by the eligible 8 |
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| 97 | 97 | | entity; 9 |
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| 98 | 98 | | (3) a comprehensive plan for the use of grant 10 |
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| 99 | 99 | | funds to address persistent shortages described in 11 |
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| 100 | 100 | | the needs assessment under paragraph (1), including 12 |
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| 101 | 101 | | a description of how such activities shall address the 13 |
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| 102 | 102 | | health and wellness needs described under paragraph 14 |
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| 103 | 103 | | (2) and how such funds will be used to ensure that 15 |
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| 104 | 104 | | the eligible entity will continue to employ and retain 16 |
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| 105 | 105 | | school nurses after the completion of the grant pe-17 |
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| 106 | 106 | | riod; and 18 |
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| 107 | 107 | | (4) a description of how the eligible entity will 19 |
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| 108 | 108 | | prioritize recruiting individuals from the commu-20 |
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| 109 | 109 | | nities served by the eligible entity and from under-21 |
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| 110 | 110 | | represented populations in public health professions 22 |
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| 111 | 111 | | (as determined by the Secretary by regulation), and 23 |
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| 112 | 112 | | how the eligible entity will track progress in meeting 24 |
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| 113 | 113 | | any specified hiring goals. 25 |
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| 115 | 115 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 |
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| 116 | 116 | | •HR 305 IH |
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| 117 | 117 | | (c) SELECTION ANDPRIORITY.—In awarding grants 1 |
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| 118 | 118 | | under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligi-2 |
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| 119 | 119 | | ble entities that— 3 |
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| 120 | 120 | | (1) are a high-need local educational agency, or 4 |
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| 121 | 121 | | are a partnership between a State educational agen-5 |
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| 122 | 122 | | cy and a consortium of high-need local educational 6 |
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| 123 | 123 | | agencies; and 7 |
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| 124 | 124 | | (2) describe and set specific hiring goals to-8 |
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| 125 | 125 | | wards increasing the share of school nurses who are 9 |
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| 126 | 126 | | from underrepresented populations in public health 10 |
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| 127 | 127 | | professions. 11 |
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| 128 | 128 | | (d) A |
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| 129 | 129 | | CTIVITIES.—Grant funds awarded under this 12 |
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| 130 | 130 | | section shall be used by an eligible entity to carry out one 13 |
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| 131 | 131 | | or more of the following activities: 14 |
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| 132 | 132 | | (1) Recruit and hire school nurses. 15 |
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| 133 | 133 | | (2) Provide resources necessary to convert part- 16 |
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| 134 | 134 | | time school nurse positions at elementary or sec-17 |
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| 135 | 135 | | ondary schools served by the eligible entity into full- 18 |
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| 136 | 136 | | time school nurse positions. 19 |
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| 137 | 137 | | (3) Support the retention of school nurses, in-20 |
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| 138 | 138 | | cluding by increasing salaries. 21 |
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| 139 | 139 | | (4) Maintain recommended nurse-to-student ra-22 |
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| 140 | 140 | | tios (as determined by the Secretary by regulation). 23 |
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| 141 | 141 | | (e) R |
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| 142 | 142 | | EPORTING.—Each eligible entity awarded a 24 |
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| 143 | 143 | | grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an 25 |
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| 145 | 145 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 |
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| 146 | 146 | | •HR 305 IH |
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| 147 | 147 | | annual report for each year of the grant award. Such re-1 |
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| 148 | 148 | | port shall include— 2 |
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| 149 | 149 | | (1) a summary of the eligible entity’s progress 3 |
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| 150 | 150 | | in employing at least one full-time registered nurse 4 |
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| 151 | 151 | | at each elementary and secondary school served by 5 |
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| 152 | 152 | | the eligible entity and maintaining recommended 6 |
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| 153 | 153 | | nurse-to-student ratios (as determined by the Sec-7 |
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| 154 | 154 | | retary by regulation); 8 |
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| 155 | 155 | | (2) data on the number and percentage of full- 9 |
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| 156 | 156 | | time and part-time school nurses, disaggregated by 10 |
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| 157 | 157 | | major racial and ethnic groups and gender, em-11 |
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| 158 | 158 | | ployed at each elementary and secondary school 12 |
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| 159 | 159 | | served by the eligible entity; and 13 |
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| 160 | 160 | | (3) a summary of any progress made by the eli-14 |
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| 161 | 161 | | gible entity in addressing the health and wellness 15 |
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| 162 | 162 | | needs identified in the needs assessment required 16 |
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| 163 | 163 | | under subsection (b)(2) as a result of activities car-17 |
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| 164 | 164 | | ried out with a grant under this section. 18 |
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| 165 | 165 | | (f) R |
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| 166 | 166 | | EGULATIONSREQUIRED.—Not later than 12 19 |
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| 167 | 167 | | months after the date of enactment of this section, the 20 |
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| 168 | 168 | | Secretary shall— 21 |
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| 169 | 169 | | (1) in consultation with the Secretary of Health 22 |
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| 170 | 170 | | and Human Services— 23 |
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| 172 | 172 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 7 |
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| 173 | 173 | | •HR 305 IH |
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| 174 | 174 | | (A) specify in regulation the recommended 1 |
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| 175 | 175 | | nurse-to-student ratios for elementary and sec-2 |
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| 176 | 176 | | ondary schools; 3 |
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| 177 | 177 | | (B) provide for guidance and other tech-4 |
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| 178 | 178 | | nical assistance to eligible entities with respect 5 |
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| 179 | 179 | | to achieving and maintaining such ratios; and 6 |
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| 180 | 180 | | (C) specify in regulation the definition of 7 |
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| 181 | 181 | | ‘‘underrepresented populations in public health 8 |
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| 182 | 182 | | professions’’ for the purposes of this section; 9 |
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| 183 | 183 | | and 10 |
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| 184 | 184 | | (2) in consultation with the Secretary of Health 11 |
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| 185 | 185 | | and Human Services and the Secretary of Labor, 12 |
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| 186 | 186 | | specify in regulation the definition of ‘‘full-time’’ 13 |
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| 187 | 187 | | with respect to school nurses for the purposes of this 14 |
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| 188 | 188 | | section. 15 |
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| 189 | 189 | | (g) D |
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| 190 | 190 | | EFINITIONS.—In this section: 16 |
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| 191 | 191 | | (1) E |
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| 192 | 192 | | LIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-17 |
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| 193 | 193 | | ty’’ means— 18 |
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| 194 | 194 | | (A) a local educational agency; or 19 |
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| 195 | 195 | | (B) a partnership between a State edu-20 |
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| 196 | 196 | | cational agency and a consortium of local edu-21 |
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| 197 | 197 | | cational agencies in the State, entered into for 22 |
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| 198 | 198 | | the purposes of a grant under this section. 23 |
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| 199 | 199 | | (2) H |
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| 200 | 200 | | IGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN -24 |
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| 201 | 201 | | CY.—The term ‘‘high-need local educational agency’’ 25 |
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| 203 | 203 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 8 |
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| 204 | 204 | | •HR 305 IH |
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| 205 | 205 | | has the meaning given such term in section 200 of 1 |
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| 206 | 206 | | the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2 |
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| 207 | 207 | | 1021). 3 |
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| 208 | 208 | | (3) L |
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| 209 | 209 | | OCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ; STATE EDU-4 |
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| 210 | 210 | | CATIONAL AGENCY.—The terms ‘‘local educational 5 |
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| 211 | 211 | | agency’’ and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the 6 |
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| 212 | 212 | | meanings given such terms in section 8101 of the 7 |
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| 213 | 213 | | Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 8 |
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| 214 | 214 | | (20 U.S.C. 7801). 9 |
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| 215 | 215 | | (4) S |
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| 216 | 216 | | CHOOL NURSE.—The term ‘‘school nurse’’ 10 |
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| 217 | 217 | | means a registered nurse who is employed by a 11 |
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| 218 | 218 | | school or local educational agency or State or State 12 |
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| 219 | 219 | | educational agency and is qualified under State law 13 |
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| 220 | 220 | | to provide assessment, diagnosis, counseling, edu-14 |
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| 221 | 221 | | cational, therapeutic, and other health services to 15 |
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| 222 | 222 | | meet student needs. 16 |
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| 223 | 223 | | (5) S |
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| 224 | 224 | | ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 17 |
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| 225 | 225 | | the Secretary of Education. 18 |
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| 226 | 226 | | Æ |
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