Student Health Assessment Act of 2005

Student Health Assessment Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to provide grants to ten local educational agencies to develop and complete comprehensive health assessments for students. Requires the Secretary to take into consideration school size, socioeconomic status and ethnic composition of students, and location when awarding grants.

Requires each grantee to: (1) notify parents of the availability and benefits of such assessments; (2) assist qualified parents to apply for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP); (3) facilitate or provide such an assessment to each participating student; (4) make available the results of each assessment to the parents of participating children, upon request; and (5) consolidate statistical information, without including individually identifiable information, for the Secretary.

Directs the Secretary to develop a checklist for physicians or health care workers authorized by the grantee to conduct such assessments. Requires each assessment to be performed by such an authorized physician or health care provider chosen by the student's parents and to include a physical evaluation and a psycho-social evaluation.

[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4344 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4344

 To establish a demonstration program to provide comprehensive health 
                       assessments for students.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 16, 2005

 Mr. Andrews introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
   Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the 
   Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a demonstration program to provide comprehensive health 
                       assessments for students.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Student Health Assessment Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to provide grants to 
10 local educational agencies to develop and complete comprehensive 
health assessments for students.
    (b) Selection.--To ensure a broad sample of students across the 
Nation, the Secretary shall take into consideration school size, 
socioeconomic status and ethnic composition of students, and location 
when awarding grants under this Act.
    (c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this Act, 
a local educational agency shall--
            (1) submit an application to the Secretary at such time and 
        in such form and manner as the Secretary may reasonably 
        require; and
            (2) provide an assurance that the agency will strongly 
        encourage parents of students who attend schools served by such 
        agency to allow their child to participate in a comprehensive 
        health assessment.

SEC. 3. ASSESSMENTS.

    (a) In General.--A local educational agency that receives a grant 
award under this Act shall--
            (1) notify parents, through the use of written 
        notification, public meetings, and electronic and broadcast 
        media, of the availability and benefit of a comprehensive 
        health assessment;
            (2) assist parents who qualify to apply for the State 
        Children's Health Insurance Program established under title XXI 
        of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.); and
            (3) facilitate or provide a comprehensive health assessment 
        described in subsection (b) to each participating student.
    (b) Assessment.--
            (1) Checklist.--The Secretary of Education, in consultation 
        with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall develop 
        a checklist for local educational agencies to provide 
        physicians or health care workers authorized to conduct 
        comprehensive health assessments.
            (2) Assessment.--Each assessment shall be performed by an 
        authorized physician or health care provider, chosen by the 
        parents and authorized to participate in the program by the 
        local educational agency, and shall include--
                    (A) a physical evaluation; and
                    (B) a psycho-social evaluation.
    (c) Results.--The local educational agency shall--
            (1) upon request, make available the results of each health 
        assessment to the parents of participating children; and
            (2) consolidate statistical information, without including 
        individually identifiable information, to the Secretary not 
        later than 6 months after each year of participation.
    (d) Report.--Not later than one year after funds are distributed 
under this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress that 
includes, at a minimum, the following information:
            (1) Participation.--Participation of students, including 
        the socioeconomic, ethnic, and geographic location of students 
        and the size of participating schools.
            (2) SCHIP enrollees.--The number of new enrollees of the 
        State Children's Health Insurance Program resulting from 
        implementation of this Act.
            (3) Health problems.--Statistical breakdown of the number 
        and types of health problems detected through assessments 
        conducted under this Act.
            (4) Referrals.--The number of physical and psychological 
        referrals made resulting from the health assessments conducted 
        pursuant to this Act.

SEC. 4. RULES AND REGULATIONS.

    The Secretary shall promulgate such rules and regulations as are 
necessary to carry out this Act and to ensure confidentiality regarding 
health assessment information.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such 
sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2012.
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