Access To Medically Necessary Services For Students

Under the bill, a student who has a medical diagnosis and presents an accompanying prescription from a qualified health-care professional to an administrative unit must receive reasonable accommodations, as determined by a collaborative care team, to allow the student to receive medically necessary services in the school setting.The bill prohibits an administrative unit from prohibiting a functional health-care specialist from providing medically necessary services to a student during school hours.The bill authorizes an administrative unit to utilize onsite therapists when selecting a functional health-care specialist to provide the medically necessary services to the student. If the administrative unit does not have an appropriate specialist available on site, the bill requires the administrative unit to allow a community-based specialist to provide the medically necessary services in the school setting. The administrative unit is also required to consider selecting specialists who provide frequent and regular therapy to the student outside of the school setting to provide the medically necessary service to the student in the school setting in order to maintain continuity of care.The bill does not increase, alter, or reduce an administrative unit's obligation to provide required services pursuant to the federal "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" or section 504 of the federal "Rehabilitation Act of 1974". No later than July 1, 2023, the bill requires each administrative unit to adopt a policy that addresses how a student who has a prescription from a qualified health-care provider for medically necessary treatment receives such treatment in the school setting as required by applicable federal and state laws. The bill requires the administrative unit to make the policy publicly available on the administrative unit's website and available to the student's parent or legal guardian upon request.Beginning July 1, 2024, and each July thereafter, the bill requires each administrative unit to compile and provide to the department of education (department) the total number of requests for access to a student by a private health-care specialist and whether the access was authorized or denied.Beginning January 2025, and each January thereafter, the bill requires the department to make the information reported available on the department's website and report the information to specified committees of the general assembly.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)