PRINTER'S NO. 146
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
232
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY BROOKS, BREWSTER, BOSCOLA, KANE, MARTIN,
LANGERHOLC, STREET, J. WARD, COMITTA, MASTRIANO, COSTA,
L. WILLIAMS AND ROBINSON, JANUARY 27, 2023
REFERRED TO EDUCATION, JANUARY 27, 2023
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 of the act of March 10, 1949
(P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, is
amended by adding subsections to read:
Section 1402. Health Services.--* * *
(e.1) The following shall apply:
(1) A school nurse, school physician or employe of a school
district 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 district
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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 district to the Tick
Research Lab of Pennsylvania for testing using the free basic
panel tick test. Upon receiving the results, the school district
shall inform the child's parent or guardian of the results.
(2) After a tick is removed from a student, the school
district 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 bulls-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
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districts.
* * *
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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