School District Contract Physician For Pandemic

The bill provides noncompetitive grants to school districts and boards of cooperative services that include rural school districts (local education providers) to retain a licensed physician to provide medical assessments and advice and to act as a liaison between the local education provider and state and local public health agencies with regard to implementing health protocols and requirements pertaining to COVID-19, with the goal of stabilizing the learning environment and advocating for the interests of the local education provider and its students and their families. The department of education (department) shall allocate grants in the order requests are received, so long as there are available appropriations; except that the department may prioritize the award of grants to local education providers located in counties that are experiencing high or rising levels of COVID-19 or that are managing significant or complex exposure and quarantine protocols for students or staff. The term of the physician contracts must not exceed 30 days following the expiration of the governor's executive orders and any school-related public health agency order or protocols related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The department may award grants of up to $50,000 per local education provider or group of providers, up to a cap of one million dollars. The bill gives the commissioner of education discretion, as specified in the bill, relating to the award of grants. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)