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Committee advances school nurse grant program to prioritize high-need districts
Summary
The House Education Committee moved HB 2329, a grant program administered by the Department of Education to help LEAs hire full‑time licensed school nurses, prioritizing higher-need districts; sponsor estimated funding needs and cited gaps in nurse coverage.
The House Education Committee advanced House Bill 23,29, a school nurse grant program designed to help local education agencies hire and retain full‑time licensed nurses. Representative Davis said the program would be administered by the Department of Education, sit outside the funding formula, and prioritize LEAs with higher needs; he told the committee there are “about 331 public schools and 32 public charter schools that do not have access to a full time nurse.”
A witness invited to speak, Dr. Shannon Groom of the National Association of School Nurses, urged support and noted that when students see a nurse they “go back to class” far more often than when they are seen by other personnel. Representative Davis estimated a funding level of roughly $72,000 per nurse and said fully funding the proposal at that level would cost a little over $30,000,000, which he compared to current spending on school resource officers. The committee voted to advance HB 2329 to the finance committee (vote reported: 16 ayes, 0 nays).
