This Act requires all public schools that serve pupils in grades 7-12 that issue pupil identification cards to have printed on the identification cards the telephone or text numbers for the National Suicide Prevention and National Domestic Violence Hotlines and allows them to add the National Sexual Assault, Teen Dating Violence and Bullying Hotlines. The Act requires all public institutions of higher learning in Delaware, which issue student identification cards, to print on the student identification cards the telephone or text numbers for National Suicide Prevention, Domestic Violence Hotlines and local campus police or campus security telephone numbers and allows the institutions to add the National Sexual Assault Hotline number. This Act will be implemented for the 2022-2023 school year.
Sponsored bills
This Act is an interstate compact called the Multistate Professional Counselor Licensure Compact, and it facilitates the interstate practice of licensed professional counseling. The Counseling Compact allows a counselor who is licensed in their home state and has not had any encumbrances on their license within the last 2 years to obtain the ability to practice counseling in other states participating in the Compact if the counselor satisfies the requirements, including completion of a criminal background check. A counselor must comply with the rules of any state in which they are practicing. Any state in which the counselor practices has the authority to remove the counselor's ability to practice in their state for a specific period of time, impose fines, and take other actions necessary to protect the health and safety of its citizens. If the counselor's home state license becomes encumbered, the counselor will lose the ability to practice interstate under the Compact until their home state license is no longer encumbered and at least 2 years have passed. Additionally, the Compact establishes protections, including data sharing requirements between participating states to enhance the exchange of licensure, investigative, and disciplinary information among participating states. The Compact establishes a commission to administer the Compact, and establishes that each participating state will have one delegate that serves on the Commission. The Compact also has a special provision to make it easier for active duty military personnel or their spouses who are counselors to practice counseling despite frequent moves. Counselors do not have to participate in the Compact to practice; counselors may choose to only apply for their state's license or to apply for licenses in other states without going through the Compact. The Counseling Compact must be enacted in 10 states to become effective. As of March 26, 2022, the Counseling Compact has been enacted in 6 states. The Compact is pending in 16 other states.
By this Act, Delaware would join the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact (the “Compact”). The Compact is an interstate compact, or a formal agreement among states, to facilitate the interstate practice of audiology and speech language pathology. Under the Compact, audiologists and speech-language pathologists (collectively, “practitioners”) who are licensed and in good standing in a Compact member state may practice in any other Compact member states via a “compact privilege,” which is equivalent to a license. This will remove the need for practitioners to get an individual license in each state where they want to practice. The Compact is the same in form and function as other occupational licensure compacts such as the Nurse Multistate Licensure Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 19A), the Physical Therapy Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 26C) and the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 17A). The Compact authorizes in-person practice and telepractice based on a valid, unrestricted home state license in Compact member states. The Compact has been adopted by 17 states: Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The Compact is pending before the legislatures of 9 other states. The Compact establishes a licensure data system allowing for instantaneous verification of licensure information. The Compact also establishes an interstate commission, composed of member state officials, to carry out the Compact’s purposes.
This bill changes the definition of and class of felony for the crime of Strangulation from a class C felony to a Class D felony unless additional factors are present, then the crime elevates to a class B felony, punishable from 2-25 years in jail. This bill also adds the crime of suffocation.
This Act establishes a mental health services unit for Delaware middle schools. The unit is phased in over 3 years, beginning in FY2023, to arrive at a final ratio of 250 full-time equivalent students grades 6-8 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 6-8 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. This bill will lower ratios of students to counselors and increase access to mental health services for middle school students.
A 2017 survey of Delaware high school students found that during the 12 months before the survey the following occurred: (1) 27.6% of the students felt sad or hopeless almost every day for 2 weeks in a row so that they stopped some usual activities. (2) 16.1% of students seriously considered attempting suicide. (3) 12% of students made a plan about how they would attempt suicide. (4) 7.2% of students attempted suicide. This Act increases student awareness of mental health by requiring the Department of Education, with the approval of the State Board of Education, to establish and implement statewide mental health educational programs for each grade, kindergarten through grade 12, in each school district and charter school in this State. Finally, this Act requires the Department of Education to annually report to the Governor and General Assembly regarding the implementation of this Act.
This Act more closely aligns the meaning of agricultural, horticultural, and forestry land use with the U.S. Census Bureau’s definition of “farm,” which, since the 1974 Census, has included “any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold . . . during the year.” This alignment will ensure a more equitable tax treatment of farms throughout Delaware. Under this Act, the use qualifies as agricultural, horticultural, or forestry only if, during the applicable year, the use results in $1,000 or more of products being produced or sold, the owner of the land files a Schedule F (Profit or Loss From Farming) form with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, and the use is made on at least 10 acres. “Applicable year” means the calendar year immediately before the February 1 that an application for valuation is due under § 8334(3) of Title 9. This Act keeps the existing Delaware law that allows contiguous parcels to be combined to reach the required threshold. This Act also clarifies that an application for valuation must be submitted on the next official business day if February 1 falls on a weekend day or legal holiday. Finally, this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including citing to § 8333 within § 8334, both of Title 9, instead of duplicating identical language in 2 places in the Code.
This bill would create a pilot program whereby motorcyclists are permitted to use flashing headlights as a way to alert other drivers of their presence, without allowing the use of flashing lights that would otherwise be used on emergency vehicles. The bill aims to protect motorcyclists on Delaware’s roads and has a sunsetting provision that will allow time for further traffic studies to determine the effectiveness of this pilot program.
This Act ensures pregnant women and women who have given birth within the past six weeks who are subject to the custody of the Department of Corrections at Level IV or V have access to midwifery and doula services by requiring the Department to make reasonable accommodations for provision of available midwifery or doula services. This Act requires the Department to establish and provide midwifery services subject to the availability of funds designated for that purpose. This Act also requires the Department to provide written notice to pregnant and postpartum women subject to the custody of the Department at Level IV or V of the availability of midwifery and doula services.
This Act requires the Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance to take the necessary steps to expand Medicaid coverage to pregnant women from the current coverage of 60-days from the end of pregnancy under federal Medicaid regulations to 12 months from the end of pregnancy. As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, pregnant women receiving Medicaid benefits cannot be dropped so comprehensive medical care and other health care services have continued beyond 60 days until 12 months after the end of pregnancy by virtue of the federal Determination that a Public Health Emergency Exists. This Act would continue that coverage after the Determination is not renewed. In the event that coverage under the Determination ends before the State Plan Amendment is approved, the State will be obligated to provide the cost of coverage for services provided to pregnant women during the period from 60 days until 12 months after pregnancy ends. Insurance coverage is a critical factor in determining women’s access to affordable postpartum care and is a key strategy for reducing preventable maternal mortality. Extending the period postpartum during which insurance coverage is available will help close the disparity in the maternal morbidity and mortality rate, improve access for preventive services and comprehensive care for chronic conditions, including behavioral health, and accordingly, improve the overall health outcomes among Black women and women of other races.