'Hannah's Law' would ensure clinical nursing decisions in schools remain with licensed nurses, sponsors say

House Bill 2948, known in testimony as “Hannah’s Law,” would clarify that clinical nursing decisions in schools — supervision, assignment and evaluation of nursing practice — must be made by licensed registered nurses, while allowing administrators to direct non‑clinical, employment‑related tasks.

Representative Travis Nelson, a registered nurse and sponsor of the bill, told the Senate Committee on Health Care that current practice often leaves school nurses supervised by non‑nurses who lack the clinical training to assess nursing decisions. Nelson described cases in which parents or nurses had to intervene to ensure medically complex students received licensed care in school.

Wendy Niskanen, executive director of the Oregon School Nurses Association, testified the bill would protect students and uphold the nursing process and the Oregon Nurse Practice Act by ensuring clinical judgments are not overruled by nonmedical supervisors. She described “Hannah,” a seventh grader with medical complexities who needs consistent licensed nursing support; Niskanen said the student was denied necessary assistance when nonmedical staff judged the needs nonclinical.

Committee discussion focused on balancing limited district resources with clinical safety. Witnesses and the sponsor described the bill as clarifying existing boundaries: school administrators may continue to supervise nurses for employment‑related duties, but the clinical autonomy of nurses would guide patient care decisions. Testimony noted Washington state has enacted similar protections and that the bill was developed with input from school nurses, administrators, the state board of nursing and other stakeholders.

The committee closed the public hearing after testimony; members asked questions about implementation and collaboration between nurses and administrators but did not record a committee vote during the session.