HR0817LRB102 27172 MST 38721 r


  
1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

  
 
2    WHEREAS, School nurses are the healthcare experts in 
3schools and are often the only healthcare provider that many 
4students encounter; and
  
 
5    WHEREAS, School nurses have demonstrated their essential 
6role in the school system as they mitigated the impact of the 
7COVID-19 pandemic; and
  
 
8    WHEREAS, School nurses have been on the front lines of 
9bridging health care and education, providing care 
10coordination, and advocating for quality student-centered 
11care; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Students turn to the school nurse for both 
13physical and emotional safety needs; and
 
14    WHEREAS, School nurses are often the first to identify a 
15medical issue that is impacting a student's learning; and
 
16    WHEREAS, School nurses promote access to services in 
17underserved communities, often times not only providing 
18services to individual school children but also serving as a 
19resource to students and families in addressing social 
20determinants of health such as homelessness; and
 
 
 
HR0817- 2 -LRB102 27172 MST 38721 r

1    WHEREAS, According to the National Survey on Children's 
2Health, 40% of school aged children have at least one chronic 
3health condition, which are often discovered and managed daily 
4by school nurses; and
 
5    WHEREAS, There are no requirements for school districts to 
6employ school nurses, and therefore, the hiring requirements 
7and parameters around the roles of school nurses vary widely; 
8and
  
 
9    WHEREAS, This lack of formalized hiring practices and 
10parameters equates to a lack of information about schools that 
11hire school nurses, such as how school nurses are utilized and 
12the number of schools that school nurses are required to 
13oversee; and
  
 
14    WHEREAS, The Illinois State Board of Education provides 
15oversight to schools in Illinois and already collects data 
16from these schools; and
  
 
17    WHEREAS, The Illinois State Board of Education has a 
18department that focuses on coordinated reporting, data 
19collection, data implementation sharing, and analyzing data 
20for policy and strategic planning; therefore, be it
  
 
 
 
HR0817- 3 -LRB102 27172 MST 38721 r

1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE 
2HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
3we recognize the vital role of school nurses in providing 
4health care to the students of Illinois; and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois State Board of 
6Education to partner with the Illinois Association of School 
7Nurses to complete a School Nursing Capacity Study in 
8Illinois; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That we recommend that the School Nursing 
10Capacity Study in Illinois should  include, but not be limited 
11to, ascertaining who is providing health care to school 
12children in Illinois schools, determining credentials of the 
13nurses currently providing care, determining the number of 
14schools in which each nurse is required to provide healthcare 
15services in each school district, and determining what 
16policies are in place to provide healthcare services and by 
17whom if a school nurse is not present in the building; and be 
18it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That we recognize that the purpose of this study 
20is to provide more in-depth data with the overall goal of 
21utilizing  the data to develop a model for healthcare services 
22provided in schools that can address specific needs of each 
23community, focusing on students that do not have access to 
 
 
HR0817- 4 -LRB102 27172 MST 38721 r

1care outside of the schools; and be it further
  
 
2    RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois State Board of 
3Education to report its findings to the General Assembly no 
4later than January 10, 2023.