1. a. The Legislature finds and declares that school nursing is a separate and distinct specialty within the nursing and educational professions and that therefore competence in specified areas of health and education is needed in order for school nurses to act as health advocates for school-age children.

b. The Legislature further finds and declares that medically fragile students are often diagnosed with medical conditions and life-threatening diseases, including cerebral palsy, seizure disorder, and other neurological diseases, that require mechanical ventilation and emergent intervention by providers of clinical nursing services while attending school. Medically fragile students who require clinical nursing services while attending school should expect and receive the same level of care they receive at home. Maintaining a continuity of care for medically fragile students creates a safer environment at school, fosters learning, and gives parents confidence that their children’s medical needs are being met by qualified health care providers. Currently, there are no standards of practice in place for providers of clinical nursing services. As a result, the quality of care medically fragile students receive in school is often inadequate to meet their health care needs. Therefore, it is in the public interest that, in order to guarantee the health and safety of medically fragile students while attending school, providers of clinical nursing services for such students meet the same qualifications as providers of clinical nursing services certified to participate in the State‘s Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare programs, and that parents should be given the option to choose the provider who will render clinical nursing services to their children while attending school, if the cost remains neutral to the school district.

L.1999, c.153, s.1; amended 2012, c.5, s.1.