[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2468 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2468

    To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for grants to 
immunize children against vaccine-preventable diseases through programs 
                   established in elementary schools.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 18, 1993

Mrs. Schroeder introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for grants to 
immunize children against vaccine-preventable diseases through programs 
                   established in elementary schools.

    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 ``School-Based Childhood Immunizations 
Program Amendments Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM FOR PROVISION OF CHILDHOOD 
              IMMUNIZATIONS THROUGH ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.

    Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 243 
et seq.), as amended by section 308 of Public Law 102-531 (106 Stat. 
3495), is amended by inserting after section 317D the following 
section:

          ``school-based program of immunizations for children

    ``Sec. 317E. (a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the 
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and after 
consultation with the Secretary of Education, may make grants to local 
educational agencies for the purpose of providing to children 
immunizations for vaccine-preventable diseases.
    ``(b) Eligible Geographic Areas.--The Secretary may make a grant 
under subsection (a) only if the local educational agency involved 
administers 1 or more elementary schools located in communities--
            ``(1) with substantial numbers of cases of vaccine-
        preventable diseases; or
            ``(2) with substantial numbers of children who have not 
        received the number and variety of immunizations commonly 
        recommended by medical authorities.
    ``(c) Certain Program Requirements.--The Secretary may make a grant 
under subsection (a) only if the local educational agency involved 
makes agreements as follows for the program operated with the grant:
            ``(1) The principal locations for providing immunizations 
        will be the premises of schools described in subsection (b).
            ``(2) To the extent practicable, the individual with the 
        principal responsibility for carrying out such program for a 
        participating school will be a registered nurse--
                    ``(A) who is licensed by the State involved to 
                practice as a nurse; and
                    ``(B)(i) to whom the State has issued a credential 
                in school nursing; or
                    ``(ii) in the case of a State that does not issue 
                such credentials, who has other documentation or 
                experience appropriate for serving as a nurse at an 
                elementary school.
            ``(3)(A) Each participating school will, on the premises of 
        the school, make available to each student, and to each of the 
        siblings of the student whose age is below the official age of 
        school entry, the number and variety of vaccines recommended by 
        the American Academy of Pediatrics.
            ``(B) To the extent practicable, each participating school 
        will, on the premises of the school, make available to children 
        in family child care homes or child care centers the number and 
        variety of vaccines so recommended.
            ``(4) To the extent practicable, the immunizations will be 
        administered only by the school nurse or by other registered 
        nurses licensed by the State involved.
            ``(5) A charge will not be imposed for the provision of the 
        immunizations.
            ``(6) Each participating school will notify the families of 
        the students of the school that the school is providing the 
        immunizations and of the importance of early immunization, and 
        will answer parental inquiries about immunization.
            ``(7)(A) In the case of the community in which a 
        participating school is located and the communities in which 
        the students of the school reside, the school will, subject to 
        subparagraphs (B) and (C), carry out in each such community a 
        program to educate the residents of the community on--
                    ``(i) the availability from the school of 
                immunizations;
                    ``(ii) the importance of children receiving the 
                number and variety of immunizations recommended by the 
                American Academy of Pediatrics;
                    ``(iii) the fact that no significant adverse health 
                consequences result from administering immunizations to 
                children during periods in which the children have 
                common illnesses; and
                    ``(iv) the availability of other health, 
                educational, or social services from public and 
                nonprofit entities in the geographic area involved.
            ``(B) In educating residents for purposes of subparagraph 
        (A), each participating school will carry out the program of 
        education for individuals caring for children in child care 
        homes and child care centers, and will carry out the program 
        for all parents of newborn infants.
            ``(C) Such program of education will be coordinated among 
        each participating school (and such schools will not carry out 
        duplicative activities in a community) and will be coordinated 
        with local health departments, hospitals and maternity wards, 
        birth registries, and community health centers.
            ``(8) In the case of the purposes for which a grant under 
        subsection (a) may be expended, the local educational agency 
        will maintain expenditures of non-Federal amounts for such 
        purposes at a level that is not less than the level of such 
        expenditures maintained by the agency for the fiscal year 
        preceding the first fiscal year for which the agency receives 
        such a grant.
    ``(d) Required Prior Arrangements for Programs.--
            ``(1) Provision by state of supply of vaccines.--The 
        Secretary may make a grant under subsection (a) to a local 
        educational agency only if the agency has entered into an 
        agreement with the State involved under which the State will, 
        for purposes of the program operated by the agency with the 
        grant, provide to the agency a supply of vaccines that is 
        satisfactory to the Secretary in terms of the quantity of 
        vaccines supplied and the charge imposed for the vaccines.
            ``(2) Participants in program of public education.--With 
        respect to the program of education described in subsection 
        (c)(7), the Secretary may make a grant under subsection (a) 
        only if the local educational agency involved has entered into 
        such agreements as may be necessary to ensure that, for 
        purposes of educating a substantial number of individuals, an 
        appropriate number and variety of public and private entities 
        participate in the program and that the activities of the 
        program are coordinated among such entities.
    ``(e) Requirement of Application.--The Secretary may make a grant 
under subsection (a) only if an application for the grant is submitted 
to the Secretary containing the agreements required in this section, 
and the application is in such form, is made in such manner, and 
contains such other agreements, and such assurances and information, as 
the Secretary determines to be necessary to carry out this section.
    ``(f) Certain Expenditures of Grant.--
            ``(1) Certain permissible expenditures.--The purposes for 
        which a grant under subsection (a) may be expended by a local 
        educational agency include--
                    ``(A) carrying out the program of education 
                described in subsection (c)(7); and
                    ``(B) recruiting and retaining a school nurse, 
                without regard to whether the functions of the nurse 
                will include functions other than the functions of the 
                program carried out under subsection (a).
            ``(2) General limitation.--In the case of the costs of 
        establishing or operating a program under subsection (a), the 
        Secretary may not authorize a local educational agency 
        receiving a grant under such subsection to expend more than 15 
        percent of the grant for such costs that are not directly 
        related to the provision of immunizations at participating 
        schools.
    ``(g) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            ``(1) The term `immunizations' means immunizations against 
        vaccine-preventable diseases.
            ``(2) The term `local educational agency' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 1471 of the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965.
            ``(3) The term `participating school' means a school 
        described in subsection (b) at which an agency is providing 
        immunizations with a grant under subsection (a).
            ``(4) The term `school nurse' means a nurse described in 
        subsection (c)(2).
    ``(h) Funding.--
            ``(1) Authorization of appropriations.--For the purpose of 
        carrying out this section, there are authorized to be 
        appropriated $4,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, and such sums as 
        may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1995 and 1996.
            ``(2) Initial number of grants.--For the first fiscal year 
        for which amounts are appropriated under paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary may not make more than 10 grants under subsection 
        (a).''.

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