COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 1008
(By Senator Tomblin (Mr. President),
By Request of the Executive)
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[Originating in the Committee on Education;
reported May 16, 2010.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5-17 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to gradual implementation of
compulsory comprehensive health screening for students
entering kindergarten, third grade, sixth grade and ninth
grade; defining terms; limiting developmental screening;
requiring promulgation of legislative rules; and requiring an
analysis of current infrastructure in place to implement
requirements.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-5-17 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-17. Kids First compulsory comprehensive health screening;
developmental screening for children under compulsory
school age.
(a) Prior to July 1, 2014 and except for students subject to
the comprehensive health screening requirement set forth in
subsection (b) of this section, all children entering public school
for the first time in this state shall be given prior to their
enrollments screening tests to determine if they might have vision
or hearing impairments or speech and language disabilities. County
boards of education may provide, upon request, such the screening
tests to all children entering nonpublic school. County boards of
education shall conduct these screening tests for all children
through the use of trained personnel. Parents or guardians of
children who are found to have vision or hearing impairments or
speech and language disabilities shall be notified of the results
of these tests and advised that further diagnosis and treatment of
the impairments or disabilities by qualified professional personnel
is recommended.
(b) Effective July 1, 2011:
_____(1) A comprehensive health screening requirement for students
entering kindergarten, third grade, sixth grade and ninth grade
shall be implemented gradually as follows:
_____(A) Effective July 1, 2011, all students entering kindergarten
and third grade shall have a comprehensive health screening by a
licensed medical provider;
_____(B) Effective July 1, 2012, all students entering the sixth
grade shall have a comprehensive health screening by a licensed
medical provider; and
_____(C) Effective July 1, 2014, all students entering ninth grade shall have a comprehensive health screening by a licensed medical
provider.
_____(2) Parents or guardians shall provide appropriate
documentation of a comprehensive health screening in the form of a
comprehensive health screening certificate within forty-five days
of a student's entering kindergarten, third, sixth or ninth grade,
as applicable.
_____(3) For the purposes of this section, "comprehensive health
screening certificate" means a document developed by the Department
of Education and reported to the Legislative Oversight Commission
on Education Accountability and the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability prior to
December 1, 2010. The certificate shall be signed by a licensed
medical provider verifying that a comprehensive health screening
has been completed and shall include only the following
information: Student name screening date, student height and
weight, and if any referrals were issued for deficits found in the
screenings for hearing, vision, speech and language, developmental
and dental.
_____(3) County boards shall:
_____(A) Coordinate with parents or guardians and community health
care providers to ensure that the requirements of this subsection
are communicated to all parties;
_____(B) Enter all comprehensive health screening data in the West
Virginia Education Information System; and___
_____(C) Coordinate with parents or guardians and community health care providers to ensure that suspected deficits identified through
a comprehensive health screening are addressed through referral to
specialty healthcare providers, county board student support
services or both.
_____(b) (c) County boards of education shall provide or contract
with appropriate health agencies to provide, upon the request of a
parent or guardian residing within the district, developmental
screening for their child or children under compulsory school
attendance age: Provided, That a county board is not required to
provide such developmental screening to the same child more than
once in any one school year. Effective July 1, 2014, a county
board shall provide developmental screening for a child only if a
comprehensive health screening identifies a suspected deficit.
Developmental screening is the process of measuring the progress of
children to determine if there are problems or potential problems
or advanced abilities in the areas of understanding language,
perception through sight, perception through hearing, motor
development and hand-eye coordination, health, and psycho-social or
physical development. The boards shall coordinate the provision of
developmental screening with other public agencies and the
interagency plan for exceptional children under section eight,
article twenty of this chapter to avoid the duplication of services
and to facilitate the referral of children and their parents or
guardians who need other services. The county boards shall provide
notice to the public of the availability of these services.
(c) (d) By October 1, 2010, the state board of Education is hereby authorized to shall promulgate legislative rules consistent
with this section. The State Superintendent is directed to apply
for federal funds, if available, for the implementation of the
requirements of this section.
(e) The state board and the Department of Health and Human
Resources shall collaborate in conducting an analysis of the
infrastructure currently in place for implementing the amendments
to this section during the first extraordinary session of 2010. By
December 1, 2010, the state board and the Department of Health and
Human Resources shall report to the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Education Accountability and the Legislative
Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources on the results
of their analysis.