SB3003

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that chronic absenteeism, poor health, and delayed or limited access to health care and preventive health services continue to hinder students' academic success and schools' abilities to meet the needs of the whole child. The legislature also recognizes that school based health programs support the department of education in achieving student, school, and system success by providing school health services to public school children in complex areas across the State.

The legislature further finds that the department of education works with other state agencies, partnering health care and education organizations and interest groups, and families to improve attendance, behavior, and course marks. These improvements are achieved by partnerships to improve access to and coordinate wrap-around services and address non-school factors that impede student success.

The legislature further recognizes that through school based health and community partnerships, the departments of health and human services have identified the extent of services provided within each department that are targeted to public school children and the need to coordinate internal departmental activity and cross-departmental efforts to develop sustainable school based health services.

Furthermore, the legislature acknowledges that vision, oral health, and behavioral health services are in high demand for school-aged children. The legislature recognizes that Hawaii has the highest prevalence of tooth decay in third grade children with seventy-one per cent of children affected, which is well beyond the national average of fifty-two per cent. Of high school children, twenty-nine per cent have not visited the dentist in the past twelve months. Additionally, more than sixty per cent of children in this State lack protective dental sealants which are cost effective means to prevent tooth decay. Similarly, approximately one in five children will naturally need glasses to participate fully in school, yet thirty-five per cent of children have never seen an eye care professional.

Moreover, the legislature recognizes that one out of seven children ages two years old to eight years old are diagnosed with a mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder and that between five per cent to nine per cent of children ages five years old to seventeen years old have a serious emotional disturbance. The legislature notes that a significant gap in the current Hawaii health care system is effective awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of behavioral health conditions at all levels, including for school-aged children.

The legislature acknowledges that school based health programs and services are an effective means to continue collaboration among health, human services, and education policymakers and health care providers to achieve sustainable, achievable, and comprehensive improvements to the environments in which community members learn, live, work, and play, and improve academic and health outcomes of Hawaii's public school students.

The purpose of this Act is to establish positions within the department of education, department of health, and department of human services to:

(1) Elevate the coordination of school based health services within and among the departments; and

(2) Facilitate the establishment of evidence-based oral, vision, and behavioral health screening and assessment programs within the department of education to address and improve the current health and academic outcomes for Hawaii’s school-aged children.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $75,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) school health services coordinator position within the department of education.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $75,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) school health services coordinator position within the department of health.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $75,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) school health services coordinator position within the department of human services.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $500,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 to develop an evidence-based vision screening and eye assessment system for children in pre-kindergarten through grade twelve.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 6. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $250,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 to develop an evidence-based oral screening and assessment system for children in pre-kindergarten through grade twelve.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 7. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $250,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 to develop an evidence-based behavioral health screening and assessment system for children in pre-kindergarten through grade twelve.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2018.

INTRODUCED BY:

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THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	3003
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018
STATE OF HAWAII