STAND. COM. REP. NO. 837

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 115

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 115 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to promote the well-being of children by requiring a physical examination prior to attendance in seventh grade. 

 

     Specifically, this measure, beginning with the 2016-2017 school year:

 

(1)  Requires that each seventh grade student complete a physical examination by a physician or advanced practice registered nurse prior to the first day of school attendance; and

 

(2)  Provisionally authorizes students who have not completed a physical examination to attend school for three months while undergoing the process to complete a physical examination.

 

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Education, Department of Health, University of Hawaii, The Hawaii Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, The Hawaii Medical Service Association, The Hawaii Primary Care Association, The Hawaii Public Health Institute, Kaiser Permanente, and Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center.  One individual submitted written comments in opposition to this measure.

 

     Your Committee finds that this measure will require an additional physical examination for public school students, which will help to screen children for the preventable conditions of obesity and depression, identify developmental problems, assess oral health risks, and update immunizations.  This measure also brings Hawaii's public schools in-line with the practices of other states and Hawaii private schools, which require multiple physical examinations throughout a child's education.

 

     Your Committee requests that the Department of Education examine the possibility of incorporating the seventh-grade physical examination requirement established by this measure into the department's Hawaii Keiki pilot program through the use of advanced practice registered nurses in selected schools.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

(1)  Clarifying that the three-month provisional attendance period for a child without proof of a completed physical examination starts on the child's first date of attendance in seventh grade; and

 

(2)  Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of style, clarity, and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 115, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 115, S.D. 1.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

 

 

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair