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Bill of the Day HB22-1260, Access To Medically Necessary Services For Students

Bill summary: 

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”.

Bill of the Day HB22-1260, Access To Medically Necessary Services For Students has bi-partisan sponsorship. Senator Cleave Simpson is the Republican sponsor. Democrat sponsors are Senator Rhonda Fields and Representative Meg Froelich. The bill on its face seems reasonable, in so far as it provides access to medical services for children in schools. The concern is that the bill will bypass parental rights.

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