Sen. Marie Pinkney

This Act establishes a mental health services unit for Delaware elementary schools. The unit is at a ratio of 250 full-time equivalent students grades K-5 for a full-time school counselor, school social worker, or licensed clinical social worker. Additionally a unit ratio of 700 full time equivalent students for grades K-5 for employment of a full-time school psychologist. This Act defines “mental health services” as prevention, response, and coordination services delivered to students in elementary schools. Mental Health disorders are the most common health problem for school aged youth. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), one in five youth are affected by a mental health disorder. Additionally, 50% of lifetime mental illnesses begin by age 14. Untreated mental illness leads to negative outcomes including increased risk of dropout, homelessness, substance abuse, other chronic illnesses, incarceration, and possibly suicide. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health, ninety percent of people who have taken their own life have had an underlying mental health condition, and suicides are on the rise. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, suicides are now the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10-14. Delaware schools need trained and experienced mental health professionals to provide prevention and support programs and services to students. Currently, as reported by Delaware school districts, 86% of elementary schools do not employ a school social worker, and ratios of students to school counselors and school psychologists far exceed national best practices. This bill will lower ratios and increase access to mental health services for elementary school students.

This Act clarifies that when a motor vehicle is subject to a possessory lien either through towing or because of failure to make payment to a garage owner for services rendered to the motor vehicle, the possessory lien does not extend to personal property located in the motor vehicle, and such property shall be returned to the owner if the owner claims the items prior to the sale of such vehicle This Act also clarifies that “abandoned personal property” does not include personal property inside an abandoned motor vehicle if the owner of the personal property files an answer to a Petition seeking full title and interest to the personal property.

This Act creates the Disabled Veterans Property Tax Relief and Education Fund. Pursuant to this legislation, school districts are authorized to create a credit against school taxes for up to the full amount of school tax liability for property owned by a veteran with a 100% disability rating who is domiciled in this state. The full amount of such credit will be reimbursed by a transfer from the State’s General Fund to the County Receiver for distribution to such school districts. It has a delayed effective date to allow for implementation of the program.

Section 1 of this Act modifies Delaware’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to allow recipients to choose the most beneficial credit to be applied against their Delaware Personal Income Taxes. Under this Act, recipients can choose between a non-refundable credit of up to 20% of the value of the corresponding federal EITC or a refundable EITC credit of up to 4.5% of the value of the corresponding federal EITC. Section 2 of this Act makes the change to Delaware’s EITC effective for the tax year in which the Secretary of Finance provides the Registrar of Regulations with notice that the personal income tax release of the Integrated Revenue Administration System is implemented. This delay in effective date is necessary to ensure that tax law changes can be properly and efficiently implemented in the Division of Revenue’s modernized Integrated Revenue Administration System, which is currently under development. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act creates emergency access to epinephrine that allows an institution of higher education to acquire and stock a supply of epinephrine autoinjectors if an employee or agent has completed a training program. This Act allows the individual who has completed the training program to provide an epinephrine autoinjector to someone experiencing anaphylaxis for immediate self-administration or administer an epinephrine autoinjector to someone experiencing anaphylaxis. Before an individual administers an epinephrine autoinjector under this Act, the individual must notify EMS immediately, and after administration, must report the administration to the prescribing health-care provider. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the creation of the new subchapter and to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual..

This bill provides that the spouse and any child of a member of the active military service of the United States, who has been assigned to duty elsewhere immediately following assignment to duty in Delaware, shall be deemed to be an in-state resident for the purposes of determining the tuition, fees, and other charges at Delaware public universities, colleges, or community colleges as long as the spouse or child remains enrolled at such institution.

This bill allows schools and school districts to submit an application to the Department of Education to have a school designated as a Purple Star School.

This Act establishes a Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program for new primary care providers to be administered by the Delaware Health Care Commission. Under the loan repayment program, the Health Care Commission may award education loan repayment grants to new primary care providers of up to $50,000 per year for a maximum of 4 years. Priority consideration may be given to DIMER-participating students and participants in Delaware based residency programs. Sites eligible to apply for grants on behalf of their new primary care providers must be located in underserved areas or areas of need and must accept Medicare and Medicaid participants. Grants to hospital sites must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis by the applicant hospital and the disbursement of grants from the program is contingent upon an initial, one-time contribution to the Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program, in an amount Fiscal Year 21 appropriation of State funds up to a maximum of $1 million, from Delaware health insurers. This Act also provides that the Delaware Healthcare Commission may award Health Care Provider Repayment grants on a prorated annual basis.

This Act provides increased funding for kindergarten through third grade students identified as eligible for basic special education services. Currently, basic special education is provided for students in fourth through twelfth grade who are identified as eligible for basic special education and related services; there is no additional unit funding for students in kindergarten through third grade who may be eligible for basic special education services. The Act adds a designation of “K-3 Basic Special Education (basic)” and over three years reduces the number of students comprising a unit from the current 16.2 to 8.4. This Act will increase the unit count funding for K-3 Basic Special Education (basic) students by School Year 2023-2024, Fiscal Year 2024, to be consistent with the 8.4 unit of pupils currently available to students in grades 4 through 12. Sections 1 through 3 of this Act change the funding chart currently in the Code to subsections and provides for a decrease in the ratio between the number of students enrolled and the unit count for basic special education from 16.2 currently to 12.2 in Fiscal Year 2022, 10.2 in Fiscal Year 2023, and 8.4 in Fiscal Year 2024. Section 4 of this Act delays the effect of each Section until the start of each new fiscal year in the 3-year cycle over which this Act’s changes are intended to occur.

This bill will provide Delaware students with strong academic credentials and a demonstrated commitment to volunteer public service to receive scholarship monies sufficient to cover the full cost of tuition at Delaware State University. The intent of this bill is to increase the number of students in Delaware who not only attend the University but who successfully complete degree programs.