(A) The director of health shall adopt rules governing the statewide hearing screening, tracking, and early intervention program established under section 3701.504 of the Revised Code, including rules that do all of the following:

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(1) Specify how hospitals and freestanding birthing centers are to comply with the requirements of section 3701.505 of the Revised Code, including methods to be used for hearing screening, except that with regard to the physiologic equipment to be used for hearing screening, the rules may require only that the equipment be capable of giving reliable results and may not specify particular equipment or a particular type of equipment;

(2) Provide that no newborn or infant shall be required to undergo a hearing screening if the parent, guardian, or custodian of the newborn or infant objects on the grounds that the screening conflicts with the parent’s, guardian’s, or custodian’s religious tenets and practices;

(3) Provide for situations in which the parent, guardian, or custodian of a newborn or infant objects to a hearing screening for reasons other than religious tenets and practices;

(4) Specify how the department of health will determine whether a person is financially unable to pay for a hearing screening and define “third-party payer” for the purpose of reimbursement of hearing screening by the department under section 3701.505 of the Revised Code;

(5) Specify an inexpensive and efficient format and procedures for the submission of hearing screening information from hospitals and freestanding birthing centers to the department of health;

(6) Specify a procedure whereby the department may conduct timely reviews of hearing screening information submissions for purposes of quality assurance, training, and disease prevention and control;

(7) Specify any additional information that hospitals and freestanding birthing centers are to provide to the children and youth with special health care needs medical advisory council’s infant hearing screening subcommittee under section 3701.509 of the Revised Code.

(B) In addition to the rules adopted under division (A) of this section, the director shall adopt rules that specify the training that must be completed by persons who will conduct hearing screenings. In adopting these rules, the director shall consider incorporating cost-saving training methods, including computer-assisted learning and on-site training. Neither the rules nor the director of health may establish a minimum educational level for persons conducting hearing screenings.

(C) All rules adopted under this section shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Revised Code and shall be adopted so as to take effect not later than six months after August 1, 2002.