Pennsylvania Act 2024-120 — PUBLIC SCHOOL CODE OF 1949 - HEALTH SERVICES

Act text

Session of 2024

No. 2024-120

SB 232

AN ACT

Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An act relating to the public school system, including certain provisions applicable as well to private and parochial schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the laws relating thereto," in school health services, further providing for health services.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Section 1402(g) of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding a definition and the section is amended by adding subsections to read:

Section 1402. Health Services.--* * *

(e.1) The following shall apply:

(1) A school nurse, school physician or designated employe of a school entity shall remove a tick from a student in accordance with guidelines issued by the Secretary of Health. The tick shall:

(i) be preserved for the parent or guardian of the student to send to the Tick Research Lab of Pennsylvania for testing, if the parent or guardian chooses to do so. The school entity shall provide information to the parent or guardian on how to send the tick to the Tick Research Lab of Pennsylvania; or

(ii) be sent directly by the school entity to the Tick Research Lab of Pennsylvania for testing using the free basic panel tick test. Upon receiving the results, the school entity shall provide the original results to the child's parent or guardian. The school entity:

(A) Shall not make a copy of the results or include any information regarding the results in the child's school medical record.

(B) May notate the diseases present in the tick, with no identifying or personal information of the child, for the purposes of compiling data as to what diseases are present in the ticks on and around the school entity's property.

(2) After a tick is removed from a student, the school entity shall notify in writing the parent or guardian of the student. The notice shall state that:

(i) A tick was removed from your child today. Ticks can transmit disease and make people sick. A common illness caused by ticks in Pennsylvania is Lyme disease.

(ii) Not all tick bites lead to Lyme disease.

(iii) The parent or guardian should record the date on which the tick was removed.

(iv) It is recommended that the parent or guardian seek medical treatment from the child's doctor promptly if they notice any early signs or symptoms of illness within three (3) to thirty (30) days of the date of removal. Some people with Lyme disease will get a bull's-eye rash. Others may have an atypical rash. Not everyone who has Lyme disease gets a rash. Other symptoms which may occur during the early stages of Lyme disease include chills, fever, headache, tiredness, stiff neck, joint pain or swelling and swollen lymph nodes. Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics. If untreated, infection may progress to joint, heart, brain or nerve abnormalities.

(e.2) The Secretary of Health shall publish guidelines consistent with subsection (e.1) on the Department of Health's publicly accessible Internet website and, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, provide the guidelines to school entities.

---

(g) As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

---

"School entity" means a school district, intermediate unit, charter school, cyber charter school, regional charter school or area career and technical school.

Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

APPROVED--The 29th day of October, A.D. 2024.

JOSH SHAPIRO