(Apr. 19) – The House final gave approval today to a bill sponsored by Rep. Kyle Mullica to hire more school nurses in schools across Colorado, especially schools in rural areas and in disadvantaged communities.
“As a nurse, I see first hand how untrained school staff are administering medication to students with chronic illnesses. This can be dangerous for the staff and especially for the students,” said Rep. Mullica, D-Northglenn.“This bill would ensure Colorado’s kids have access to health care professionals in their schools. School nurses provide a range of health care services to our students while also handling medical emergencies during the school day.”
Rep. Mullica is a trained trauma nurse by profession.
HB19-1203 would provide grants to improve the ratio of school nurses to students while also prioritizing nurses in rural areas and lower-income communities. This bill also allows school nurses to partner with local public health agencies so that nurse practitioners can also serve in schools.
Currently, there are 632 nurses that serve 910,000 school-aged students. That’s roughly one nurse for every 1,500 to 1,700 students.
HB19-1203 passed with a bipartisan vote of 51-13 and now heads to the Senate.