By Mr. Moore, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate,
No. 100) of Richard T. Moore for legislation to establish
a special commission to study essential health services in
Massachusetts public schools. Children, Families and
Persons with Disabilities. |
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Notwithstanding any general or special law or
regulation to the contrary, there is hereby established a special commission to
study health services for students in Massachusetts public and non-public
schools, including the current level of school health services, gaps in school
health services, the health needs of school children, and the role of schools
in addressing health services issues. The commission shall review relevant
statistics from the department of education and the department of public
health, shall identify the role of school health services in the community, and
shall evaluate the impact of school health services on school attendance. The
commission shall consist of the house and senate chairs of the joint committee
health care, who shall serve as co-chairs of the commission, the house and
senate chairs of the joint committee on education, arts, and humanities healthcare or their designees, and three
members selected by the governor, including one representative from the
department of education and one representative from the department of public
health, and one representative member from the Massachusetts School Nurses
Organization.
In carrying out its investigation, the commission shall receive testimony from
the public and interested organizations, including but not limited to the
Massachusetts Association of School Committees, Massachusetts Association of
School Superintendents, Massachusetts Charter School Association, Massachusetts
Association of Secondary School Principals, Massachusetts Association of
Elementary School Principals, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the
Massachusetts Federation of Teachers, the Parents Alliance for Catholic
Education, the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the Massachusetts Public
Health Association, the Massachusetts School Physicians Executive Committee,
The Massachusetts Coalition of School-Based Health Centers, the Federation of
Children with Special Needs, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of New England,
and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
The commission shall submit a report and its recommendations, if any, together
with any drafts of legislation necessary to carry such recommendations into
effect, by filing the same with the clerks of the Senate and the House of Representatives,
the joint committee on education, arts and humanities, and the joint committee
on healthcare not later than November
24, 2008.
