BILL ANALYSIS
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Date of Hearing: April 2, 2008
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gene Mullin, Chair
ACR 99 (Swanson) - As Introduced: February 14, 2008
SUBJECT : School nurses: salaries
SUMMARY : Urges school districts to increase school nurse
salaries to a level comparable to salaries received by nurses
employed by hospitals and clinics. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes findings as to the vital role that school nurses serve
in delivering services to children with a variety of ailments
and the collaboration school nurses provide between schools
and health and human services agencies.
2)Makes findings as to the severe shortage of California school
nurses and the difference in salary between school nurses and
nurses employed by hospitals and clinics.
3)Resolves that the Legislature urge school districts to take
the steps necessary to increase school nurse salaries to a
level comparable to salaries of nurses employed by hospitals
and clinics.
4)Resolves that the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Declares that it is the intent of the Legislature that the
governing board of each school district and county
superintendent of schools maintain fundamental school health
services at a level that is adequate to:
a) Preserve pupils' ability to learn.
b) Fulfill existing state requirements and policies
regarding pupils' health.
c) Contain health care costs through preventive programs
and education.
2)Declares that the provision of these services may be in
jeopardy due to the current caseloads in the public schools,
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and that failure to maintain adequate health services will
result in pupils' poorer health and ability to learn.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : There has been a long standing shortage of school
nurses in California. According to Children Now and the "2008
California Report Card on the State of the State's Children,"
the shortage of school nurses in California has produced a nurse
to student ratio of 4000:1 whereas the federal standard is one
school nurse per 750 students. The report also notes that in 15
California counties, there are no school nurses at all.
According to the sponsor, there was, and continues to be, a rise
in chronic and acute illness in students, a rise in number of
special needs students, and a rise in need for school nurses to
supervise the provision of their care or to actually provide it.
At the same time there is a general nursing shortage. Nurses
are paid more in acute care setting than they are in schools.
Caseloads are atrocious in schools, school nurses are stressed,
overworked, underpaid, and there is not the job security - a
school nurse cannot be tenured, could be laid off at any time,
and is usually the first to be cut in school district budgets.
School nurses are leaving for retirement. It is difficult to
recruit for the position of a school nurse when the potential
applicant pool will be force to take a pay cut for the job.
According to the author, school nurses are paid a salary of
approximately $20,000 less than nurses employed by hospitals or
clinics.
According to the author, with over 1000 school districts,
located in many disparate areas in the state, there are
districts that have great difficulty attracting school nurses.
This resolution seeks to encourage and empower school districts
to look into alternatives to putting the school nurse on the
same salary schedule as the other certificated staff in a school
district, if it will aid them in obtaining the services of a
school nurse.
According to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, on
average, 225 School Nurse credentials were granted annually
between 2001-02 and 2005-06. As seen in the table below,
however, the number decreased 35% between 2001-02 and 2003-04
(272 to 176, respectively) and then increased 39% between
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2003-04 and 2005-06 to 245. Despite the increase over the past
two years, the numbers have not reached the 2001-02 level and
overall show a declining trend of about 10 percent.
Number of Credentials Issued for School Nurses
--------------------------------------------------------------
| |2001-02 |2002-03 |2003-04 |2004-05 |2005-06 | 5-year |
| | | | | | | change |
| | | | | | | (%) |
|--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------|
| Totals | 272 | 222 | 176 | 214 | 245 |-9.9% |
--------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Commission on Teacher Credentialing
Related legislation : SB 1521 (Cedillo), introduced February 22,
2008 would create a program for nurses to receive student loan
forgiveness if they serve as school nurses in schools meeting
certain requirements. SB 1521 is currently in the Senate
Education Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California School Nurses Organization (Sponsor)
American Nurses Association of California
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO (AFSCME)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087