BILL NUMBER: AB 766 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ridley-Thomas
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
An act to amend Section 124174.6 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to child health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 766, as amended, Ridley-Thomas. Public School Health Center
Support Program.
Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health, in
cooperation with the State Department of Education, to establish a
Public School Health Center Support Program to perform specified
functions relating to the establishment, retention, or expansion of
school health centers in California. Existing law, for purposes of
those provisions, defines a "school health center" to mean a center
or program located at or near a local educational agency that
provides age-appropriate health care services at the program site or
through referrals, and may conduct routine physical health, mental
health, and oral health assessments. Existing law requires the State
Department of Public Health, to the extent funds are appropriated to
the department, to establish a grant program to provide technical
assistance, and funding for the expansion, renovation, and
retrofitting of existing school health centers, and the development
of new school health centers, in accordance with specified
procedures. Existing law requires the department to develop a request
for proposal (RFP) process for collecting information on applicants,
and determining which proposals shall receive grant funding, giving
preference for grant funding to schools in areas designated as
federally medically underserved areas or in areas with medically
underserved populations, or schools with a high percentage of
low-income and uninsured children and youth.
This bill would require the department to also give preference to
schools with a high percentage of children and youth who receive free
or low-cost health coverage through Medi-Cal or Covered
California. Medi-Cal.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 124174.6 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:
124174.6. The department shall establish a grant program within
the Public School Health Center Support Program to provide technical
assistance, and funding for the expansion, renovation, and
retrofitting of existing school health centers, and the development
of new school health centers, in accordance with the following
procedures and requirements:
(a) A school health center receiving grant funds pursuant to this
section shall meet or have a plan to meet the following requirements:
(1) Strive to provide a comprehensive set of services including
medical, oral health, mental health, health education, and related
services in response to community needs.
(2) Provide primary and other health care services, provided or
supervised by a licensed professional, which may include all of the
following:
(A) Physical examinations, immunizations, and other preventive
medical services.
(B) Diagnosis and treatment of minor injuries and acute medical
conditions.
(C) Management of chronic medical conditions.
(D) Basic laboratory tests.
(E) Referrals to and followup for specialty care.
(F) Reproductive health services.
(G) Nutrition services.
(H) Mental health services provided or supervised by an
appropriately licensed mental health professional may include:
assessments, crisis intervention, counseling, treatment, and referral
to a continuum of services including emergency psychiatric care,
community support programs, inpatient care, and outpatient programs.
School health centers providing mental health services as specified
in this section shall consult with the local county mental health
department for collaboration in planning and service delivery.
(I) Oral health services that may include preventive services,
basic restorative services, and referral to specialty services.
(3) Work in partnership with the school nurse, if one is employed
by the school or school district, to provide individual and family
health education; school or districtwide health promotion; first aid
and administration of medications; facilitation of student enrollment
in health insurance programs; screening of students to identify the
need for physical, mental health, and oral health services; referral
and linkage to services not offered onsite; public health and disease
surveillance; and emergency response procedures. A school health
center may receive grant funding pursuant to this section if the
school or school district does not employ a school nurse. However, it
is not the intent of the Legislature that a school health center
serve as a substitute for a school nurse employed by a local school
or school district.
(4) Have a written contract or memorandum of understanding between
the school district and the health care provider or any other
community providers that ensures coordination of services, ensures
confidentiality and privacy of health information consistent with
applicable federal and state laws, and integration of services into
the school environment.
(5) Serve all registered students in the school regardless of
ability to pay.
(6) Be open during all normal school hours, or on a more limited
basis if resources are not available, or on a more expansive basis if
dictated by community needs and resources are available.
(7) Establish protocols for referring students to outside services
when the school health center is closed.
(8) Facilitate transportation between the school and the health
center if the health center is not located on school or school
district property.
(b) Planning grants shall be available in amounts between
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) and fifty thousand dollars
($50,000) for a 6- to 12-month period to be used for the costs
associated with assessing the need for a school health center in a
particular community or area, and developing the partnerships
necessary for the operation of a school health center in that
community or area. Applicants for planning grants shall be required
to have a letter of interest from a school or district if the
applicant is not a local education agency. Grantees provided funding
pursuant to this subdivision shall be required to do all of the
following:
(1) Seek input from students, parents, school nurses, school staff
and administration, local health providers, and if applicable,
special population groups, on community health needs, barriers to
health care and the need for a school health center.
(2) Collect data on the school and community to estimate the
percentage of students that lack health insurance and the percentage
that are eligible for Medi-Cal benefits, or other public programs
providing free or low-cost health services.
(3) Assess capacity and interest among health care providers in
the community to provide services in a school health center.
(4) Assess the need for specific cultural or linguistic services
or both.
(c) Facilities and startup grants shall be available in amounts
between twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) and two hundred fifty
thousand dollars ($250,000) per year for a three-year period for the
purpose of establishing a school health center, with the potential
addition of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in the first year
for facilities construction, purchase, or renovation. Grant funds
may be used to cover a portion or all of the costs associated with
designing, retrofitting, renovating, constructing, or buying a
facility, for medical equipment and supplies for a school health
center, or for personnel costs at a school health center. Preference
will be given to proposals that include a plan for cost sharing among
schools, health providers, and community organizations for
facilities construction and renovation costs. Applicants for
facilities and startup grants offered pursuant to this subdivision
shall be required to meet the following criteria:
(1) Have completed a community assessment determining the need for
a school health center.
(2) Have a contract or memorandum of understanding between the
school district and the health care provider, if other than the
district, and any other provider agencies describing the relationship
between the district and the school health center.
(3) Have a mechanism, described in writing, to coordinate services
to individual students among school and school health center staff
while maintaining confidentiality and privacy of health information
consistent with applicable state and federal laws.
(4) Have a written description of how the school health center
will participate in the following:
(A) School and districtwide health promotion, coordinated school
health, health education in the classroom or on campus,
program/activities that address nutrition, fitness, or other
important public health issues, or promotion of policies that create
a healthy school environment.
(B) Outreach and enrollment of students in health insurance
programs.
(C) Public health prevention, surveillance, and emergency response
for the school population.
(5) Have the ability to provide the linguistic or cultural
services needed by the community. If the school health center is not
yet able to provide these services due to resource limitations, the
school health center shall engage in an ongoing assessment of its
capacity to provide these services.
(6) Have a plan for maximizing available third-party reimbursement
revenue streams.
(d) Sustainability grants shall be available in amounts between
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) and one hundred twenty-five
thousand dollars ($125,000) per year for a three-year period for the
purpose of operating a school health center, or enhancing programming
at a fully operational school health center, including oral health
or mental health services. Applicants for sustainability grants
offered pursuant to this subdivision shall be required to meet all of
the criteria described in subdivision (c), in addition to both of
the following criteria:
(1) The applicant shall be eligible to become or already be an
approved Medi-Cal provider.
(2) The applicant shall have ability and procedures in place for
billing public insurance programs and managed care providers.
(3) The applicant shall seek reimbursement and have procedures in
place for billing public and private insurance that covers students
at the school health center.
(e) The department shall award technical assistance grants through
a competitive bidding process to qualified contractors to support
grantees receiving grants under subdivisions (b), (c), and (d). A
qualified contractor means a vendor with demonstrated capacity in all
aspects of planning, facilities development, startup, and operation
of a school health center.
(f) The department shall also develop a request for proposal (RFP)
process for collecting information on applicants, and determining
which proposals shall receive grant funding. The department shall
give preference for grant funding to the following schools:
(1) Schools in areas designated as federally medically underserved
areas or in areas with medically underserved populations.
(2) Schools with a high percentage of low-income and uninsured
children and youth or children and youth who receive free or low-cost
insurance through Medi-Cal or Covered California.
Medi-Cal.
(3) Schools with large numbers of limited English
proficient limited-English-proficient (LEP)
students.
(4) Schools in areas with a shortage of health professionals.
(5) Low-performing schools with Academic Performance Index (API)
rankings in the deciles of three and below of the state.
(g) Moneys shall be allocated to the department annually for
evaluation to be conducted by an outside evaluator that is selected
through a competitive bidding process. The evaluation shall document
the number of grantees that establish and sustain school health
centers, and describe the challenges and lessons learned in creating
successful school health centers. The evaluator shall use data
collected pursuant to Section 124174.3, if it is available, and work
in collaboration with the Public School Health Center Support
Program. The department shall post the evaluation on its Internet Web
site.
(h) This section shall be implemented only to the extent that
funds are appropriated to the department in the annual Budget Act or
other statute for implementation of this article.