This Act enacts the Interstate Compact for School Psychologists (“Compact”), which is designed to facilitate the interstate practice of school psychology in educational settings. School-based mental health services are in high demand in Delaware, but workforce shortages can make it difficult to meet that demand. By creating an additional licensing pathway for school psychologists to obtain equivalent licenses to practice school psychology in any state that is a member of the Compact, the Act aims to increase the availability of school psychological services for students in this State. The Interstate Compact for School Psychologists must be enacted in 7 states to become effective. The Compact has been enacted in 2 states and legislation is pending in several others.
Sponsored bills
This Act removes the time restriction that only allowed for certain teachers or specialists who were hired after August 9, 2023, to obtain additional experience credit for purposes of salary computation. This Act would allow for teachers or specialists hired before August 9, 2023, to qualify for the same experience credit for purposes of salary computation.
This Act makes changes to the Delaware Child Care Act to clarify that early education programs run by state or local education agencies are subject to a parallel regulatory and monitoring structure administered by the Office of Child Care Licensing to ensure health, safety, and child development standards are met.
This bill removes the current specific tax rate and enrollment limitations placed on Sussex County Vocational-Technical High School District. Future tax rates shall be determined by the Sussex County Vocational-Technical High School District. The enrollment capacity limitations shall be established by the Certificate of Need determined by the Delaware Department of Education.
This House Joint Resolution directs the Department of Health and Social Services (“DHSS”) to explore participating in the federal Restaurant Meals Program (RMP). The RMP is an option that states may incorporate into their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to ensure that SNAP recipients who are senior citizens, disabled, or unhoused, or other eligible family members of those participants, may use their SNAP benefits to buy hot foods or hot prepared meals. These populations may otherwise experience barriers that prevent them having the opportunity to access a nutritious and sustaining meal. This Joint Resolution also requires DHSS to provide a report to the General Assembly as to its findings.
This Act updates the Board of Nursing’s enabling act to allow the Board to issue confidential letters of concern to licensees who have acted in manner warranting concern but have not violated the Board’s statute or regulations. The purpose of the letter of concern is to encourage the licensee to improve such practice. The bill further allows the Board to require any licensee who receives 3 or more letters of concern to appear before the Board for a hearing to assess the licensee’s competency, at which time the letters of concern would no longer be confidential.
This Act would allow for Exceptional Care for Children (ECC) to continue receiving an exemption from the nursing facility quality assessment. It is intended to be a technical clean-up bill to continue ECC's exemption once the Bridge Unit is open. The Bridge Unit will allow ECC to help a small number of individuals, who turn 21 while in ECC's care, transition from a pediatric setting to an adult setting.
This Legislation is the Delaware Pre-Authorization Reform Act of 2025. Section 1 of the Act applies to health Insurance Contracts regulated under Chapter 33 of Title 18. Section 1 provides that changes in utilization review terms for a health-care service, such as the clinical criteria used to conduct utilization reviews for a health-care service, will apply only upon re-authorization of the health-care service. Covered persons must be notified at least 6 months before any changes to utilization review terms, except in certain circumstances such as changes in clinical guideline status In addition, Section 1 sets qualifications for who may make determinations with regard to requests for pre- authorization of health-care services and appeals of adverse determinations; a timeline and required contents for the notification of an outcome of appeal of an adverse determination or a notification that additional information is necessary to make the determination of appeal; and requirements for any utilization review entity used to perform utilization review by an insurer, health-benefit plan, or health-service corporation. Section 1 also shortens the timelines for the determination of pre-authorization requests and notification to the health-care provider of the determination. For requests for pre-authorization of non-urgent health-care services not submitted electronically, the utilization review entity must notify the health-care provider within 5 business days of receipt of the request; for requests submitted electronically, notification must be given within 3 business days of receipt. For requests for pre-authorization for urgent health-care services submitted electronically, notification must be given within 24 hours of receipt. By January 1, 2027, insurers, health-benefit plans, health-service corporations, and utilization review entities must accept and respond to electronic pre-authorization requests through the same platform as the electronic request was submitted. In addition, Section 1 extends the time period that a pre-authorization is valid for from 60 days to 90 days. Finally, Section 1 provides that no more than 1 pre-authorization may be required for a single episode of care, and that if pre-authorization is granted as to a health-care service that is part of a group of services for which a bundled payment is charged, pre-authorization for the other health-care services included in the group is deemed to be approved as well. Section 2 of the Act applies to Group and Blanket Health Insurance under Chapter 35 of Title 18 and makes the same changes to pre-authorization standards and procedures that Section 1 of the Act makes to Health Insurance Contracts regulated under Chapter 33 of Title 18. Section 3 of the Act provides that the State Employee Benefits Committee established under § 9602 of the Title 29 of the Delaware Code must ensure that carriers administering plans for group health insurance comply with the requirements and provisions for pre-authorization set forth in Chapter 33, Subchapter II and Chapter 35, Subchapter V of Title 18. Section 4 of the Act provides that the Act will apply to health insurance policies, contracts, or certificates issued, modified, or renewed after December 31, 2026. Section 5 of the Act provides that the Department of Health and Social Services must, to the extent feasible, assure that contracts awarded to carriers providing health insurance relating to Medicaid assistance comply with the requirements and provisions for pre-authorization set forth in Chapter 33, Subchapter II and Chapter 35, Subchapter V of Title 18. Section 6 provides that this Act is known as the "Delaware Pre-Authorization Reform Act of 2025."
This Act clarifies the requirements regarding obtaining a permit to operate a funeral establishment. Technical corrections are also made to existing statutory language to conform with the requirements of the Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act repeals the Hearing Aid Loan Bank Program, as the program is no longer operational. The Program was created pursuant to Volume 74, Chapter 109 of the Laws of Delaware (2003), for the purpose of lending hearing aids on a temporary basis to children under 3 years old. Loans were initially for 6 months with possible 3-month extensions granted by the Program Manager. The need for the Hearing Aid Loan Bank Program has steadily decreased over time and the Program is now obsolete. As a result, the Division of Public Health no longer stocks the Hearing Aid Loan Bank.