Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 143 (2019GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Escamilla, L.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/21/2019

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• defines terms;
• recodifies existing provisions regarding vision screening in public schools and repeals outdated provisions;
• gives the Department of Health oversight over public education vision screening;
• requires local education agencies to conduct certain free vision screening clinics;
• requires the Department of Health to provide for higher-level individual vision screening within the local education agency framework;
• modifies provisions regarding volunteers at local education agency free vision screening clinics;
• makes technical and conforming changes; and
• gives rulemaking authority.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

PUBLIC EDUCATION VISION SCREENING
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Luz Escamilla
House Sponsor: 
Brad M. Daw
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill modifies provisions regarding public education vision screening.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ defines terms;
▸ recodifies existing provisions regarding vision screening in public schools and
repeals outdated provisions;
▸ gives the Department of Health oversight over public education vision screening;
▸ requires local education agencies to conduct certain free vision screening clinics;
▸ requires the Department of Health to provide for higher-level individual vision
screening within the local education agency framework;
▸ modifies provisions regarding volunteers at local education agency free vision
screening clinics;
▸ makes technical and conforming changes; and
▸ gives rulemaking authority.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
26-1-30
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapters 35 and 200
35A-13-403
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 415
53E-9-301
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapters 304, 389 and renumbered
and amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 1
REPEALS AND REENACTS:
53G-9-404
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 3
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
26-1-30
 is amended to read:
26-1-30.
Powers and duties of department.
The department shall exercise the following powers and duties, in addition to other
powers and duties established in this chapter:
(1) enter into cooperative agreements with the Department of Environmental Quality to
delineate specific responsibilities to assure that assessment and management of risk to human
health from the environment are properly administered;
(2) consult with the Department of Environmental Quality and enter into cooperative
agreements, as needed, to ensure efficient use of resources and effective response to potential
health and safety threats from the environment, and to prevent gaps in protection from potential
risks from the environment to specific individuals or population groups;
(3) promote and protect the health and wellness of the people within the state;
(4) establish, maintain, and enforce rules necessary or desirable to carry out the
provisions and purposes of this title to promote and protect the public health or to prevent
disease and illness;
(5) investigate and control the causes of epidemic, infectious, communicable, and other
diseases affecting the public health;
(6) provide for the detection, reporting, prevention, and control of communicable,
infectious, acute, chronic, or any other disease or health hazard which the department considers
to be dangerous, important, or likely to affect the public health;
(7) collect and report information on causes of injury, sickness, death, and disability
and the risk factors that contribute to the causes of injury, sickness, death, and disability within
the state;
(8) collect, prepare, publish, and disseminate information to inform the public
concerning the health and wellness of the population, specific hazards, and risks that may affect
the health and wellness of the population and specific activities which may promote and protect
the health and wellness of the population;
(9) establish and operate programs necessary or desirable for the promotion or
protection of the public health and the control of disease or which may be necessary to
ameliorate the major causes of injury, sickness, death, and disability in the state, except that the
programs may not be established if adequate programs exist in the private sector;
(10) establish, maintain, and enforce isolation and quarantine, and for this purpose
only, exercise physical control over property and individuals as the department finds necessary
for the protection of the public health;
(11) close theaters, schools, and other public places and forbid gatherings of people
when necessary to protect the public health;
(12) abate nuisances when necessary to eliminate sources of filth and infectious and
communicable diseases affecting the public health;
(13) make necessary sanitary and health investigations and inspections in cooperation
with local health departments as to any matters affecting the public health;
(14) establish laboratory services necessary to support public health programs and
medical services in the state;
(15) establish and enforce standards for laboratory services which are provided by any
laboratory in the state when the purpose of the services is to protect the public health;
(16) cooperate with the Labor Commission to conduct studies of occupational health
hazards and occupational diseases arising in and out of employment in industry, and make
recommendations for elimination or reduction of the hazards;
(17) cooperate with the local health departments, the Department of Corrections, the
Administrative Office of the Courts, the Division of Juvenile Justice Services, and the Crime
Victim Reparations Board to conduct testing for HIV infection of alleged sexual offenders,
convicted sexual offenders, and any victims of a sexual offense;
(18) investigate the causes of maternal and infant mortality;
(19) establish, maintain, and enforce a procedure requiring the blood of adult
pedestrians and drivers of motor vehicles killed in highway accidents be examined for the
presence and concentration of alcohol;
(20) provide the Commissioner of Public Safety with monthly statistics reflecting the
results of the examinations provided for in Subsection (19) and provide safeguards so that
information derived from the examinations is not used for a purpose other than the compilation
of statistics authorized in this Subsection (20);
(21) establish qualifications for individuals permitted to draw blood pursuant to
Subsection 
41-6a-523
(1)(a)(vi), 
53-10-405
(2)(a)(vi), 
72-10-502
(5)(a)(vi), or
77-23-213
(3)(a)(vi), and to issue permits to individuals it finds qualified, which permits may
be terminated or revoked by the department;
(22) establish a uniform public health program throughout the state which includes
continuous service, employment of qualified employees, and a basic program of disease
control, vital and health statistics, sanitation, public health nursing, and other preventive health
programs necessary or desirable for the protection of public health;
(23) adopt rules and enforce minimum sanitary standards for the operation and
maintenance of:
(a) orphanages;
(b) boarding homes;
(c) summer camps for children;
(d) lodging houses;
(e) hotels;
(f) restaurants and all other places where food is handled for commercial purposes,
sold, or served to the public;
(g) tourist and trailer camps;
(h) service stations;
(i) public conveyances and stations;
(j) public and private schools;
(k) factories;
(l) private sanatoria;
(m) barber shops;
(n) beauty shops;
(o) physician offices;
(p) dentist offices;
(q) workshops;
(r) industrial, labor, or construction camps;
(s) recreational resorts and camps;
(t) swimming pools, public baths, and bathing beaches;
(u) state, county, or municipal institutions, including hospitals and other buildings,
centers, and places used for public gatherings; and
(v) any other facilities in public buildings or on public grounds;
(24) conduct health planning for the state;
(25) monitor the costs of health care in the state and foster price competition in the
health care delivery system;
(26) adopt rules for the licensure of health facilities within the state pursuant to Title
26, Chapter 21, Health Care Facility Licensing and Inspection Act;
(27) license the provision of child care;
(28) accept contributions to and administer the funds contained in the Organ Donation
Contribution Fund created in Section 
26-18b-101
;
(29) serve as the collecting agent, on behalf of the state, for the nursing care facility
assessment fee imposed under Title 26, Chapter 35a, Nursing Care Facility Assessment Act,
and adopt rules for the enforcement and administration of the nursing facility assessment
consistent with the provisions of Title 26, Chapter 35a, Nursing Care Facility Assessment Act;
(30) establish methods or measures for health care providers, public health entities, and
health care insurers to coordinate among themselves to verify the identity of the individuals
they serve;
(31) (a) designate Alzheimer's disease and related dementia as a public health issue
and, within budgetary limitations, implement a state plan for Alzheimer's disease and related
dementia by incorporating the plan into the department's strategic planning and budgetary
process; and
(b) coordinate with other state agencies and other organizations to implement the state
plan for Alzheimer's disease and related dementia; [
and
]
(32) ensure that any training or certification required of a public official or public
employee, as those terms are defined in Section 
63G-22-102
, complies with Title 63G, Chapter
22, State Training and Certification Requirements, if the training or certification is required:
(a) under this title;
(b) by the department; or
(c) by an agency or division within the department
; and
(33) oversee public education vision screening as described in Section 
53G-9-404
.
Section 2. Section 
35A-13-403
 is amended to read:
35A-13-403.
Services provided by the division.
The division may:
(1) provide:
(a) a business enterprise program;
(b) workshops, employment, and training; and
(c) vocational rehabilitation, training and adjustment, sight conservation, prevention of
blindness, low vision lenses, and recreational services;
[
(2) assist public education officials in the discharge of their duties towards children
who are blind or have visual impairments, and perform services related to vision screening
under Section 
53G-9-404
;
]
[
(3) maintain a register of individuals who are blind or have visual impairments,
including such facts as the office considers necessary for proper planning, administration, and
operations, but protecting against unwarranted invasions of privacy;
]
[
(4)
] 
(2)
 establish and operate community service centers, rehabilitation facilities, and
workshops; and
[
(5)
] 
(3)
 perform other duties assigned by the director or the executive director.
Section 3. Section 
53E-9-301
 is amended to read:
53E-9-301.
Definitions.
As used in this part:
(1) "Adult student" means a student who:
(a) is at least 18 years old;
(b) is an emancipated student; or
(c) qualifies under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance
Improvements Act of 2001, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 11431 et seq.
(2) "Aggregate data" means data that:
(a) are totaled and reported at the group, cohort, school, school district, region, or state
level with at least 10 individuals in the level;
(b) do not reveal personally identifiable student data; and
(c) are collected in accordance with board rule.
(3) (a) "Biometric identifier" means a:
(i) retina or iris scan;
(ii) fingerprint;
(iii) human biological sample used for valid scientific testing or screening; or
(iv) scan of hand or face geometry.
(b) "Biometric identifier" does not include:
(i) a writing sample;
(ii) a written signature;
(iii) a voiceprint;
(iv) a photograph;
(v) demographic data; or
(vi) a physical description, such as height, weight, hair color, or eye color.
(4) "Biometric information" means information, regardless of how the information is
collected, converted, stored, or shared:
(a) based on an individual's biometric identifier; and
(b) used to identify the individual.
(5) "Board" means the State Board of Education.
(6) "Data breach" means an unauthorized release of or unauthorized access to
personally identifiable student data that is maintained by an education entity.
(7) "Data governance plan" means an education entity's comprehensive plan for
managing education data that:
(a) incorporates reasonable data industry best practices to maintain and protect student
data and other education-related data;
(b) describes the role, responsibility, and authority of an education entity data
governance staff member;
(c) provides for necessary technical assistance, training, support, and auditing;
(d) describes the process for sharing student data between an education entity and
another person;
(e) describes the education entity's data expungement process, including how to
respond to requests for expungement;
(f) describes the data breach response process; and
(g) is published annually and available on the education entity's website.
(8) "Education entity" means:
(a) the board;
(b) a local school board;
(c) a charter school governing board;
(d) a school district;
(e) a charter school;
(f) the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind; or
(g) for purposes of implementing the School Readiness Initiative described in Title
53F, Chapter 6, Part 3, School Readiness Initiative, the School Readiness Board created in
Section 
35A-3-209
.
(9) "Expunge" means to seal or permanently delete data, as described in board rule
made under Section 
53E-9-306
.
(10) "General audience application" means an Internet website, online service, online
application, mobile application, or software program that:
(a) is not specifically intended for use by an audience member that attends kindergarten
or a grade from 1 to 12, although an audience member may attend kindergarten or a grade from
1 to 12; and
(b) is not subject to a contract between an education entity and a third-party contractor.
(11) "Higher education outreach student data" means the following student data for a
student:
(a) name;
(b) parent name;
(c) grade;
(d) school and school district; and
(e) contact information, including:
(i) primary phone number;
(ii) email address; and
(iii) physical address.
(12) "Individualized education program" or "IEP" means a written statement:
(a) for a student with a disability; and
(b) that is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.
(13) "Local education agency" or "LEA" means:
(a) a school district;
(b) a charter school;
(c) the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind; or
(d) for purposes of implementing the School Readiness Initiative described in Title
53F, Chapter 6, Part 3, School Readiness Initiative, the School Readiness Board created in
Section 
35A-3-209
.
(14) "Metadata dictionary" means a record that:
(a) defines and discloses all personally identifiable student data collected and shared by
the education entity;
(b) comprehensively lists all recipients with whom the education entity has shared
personally identifiable student data, including:
(i) the purpose for sharing the data with the recipient;
(ii) the justification for sharing the data, including whether sharing the data was
required by federal law, state law, or a local directive; and
(iii) how sharing the data is permitted under federal or state law; and
(c) without disclosing personally identifiable student data, is displayed on the
education entity's website.
(15) "Necessary student data" means data required by state statute or federal law to
conduct the regular activities of an education entity, including:
(a) name;
(b) date of birth;
(c) sex;
(d) parent contact information;
(e) custodial parent information;
(f) contact information;
(g) a student identification number;
(h) local, state, and national assessment results or an exception from taking a local,
state, or national assessment;
(i) courses taken and completed, credits earned, and other transcript information;
(j) course grades and grade point average;
(k) grade level and expected graduation date or graduation cohort;
(l) degree, diploma, credential attainment, and other school exit information;
(m) attendance and mobility;
(n) drop-out data;
(o) immunization record or an exception from an immunization record;
(p) race;
(q) ethnicity;
(r) tribal affiliation;
(s) remediation efforts;
(t) an exception from a vision screening required under Section 
53G-9-404
 or
information collected from a vision screening [
required under
] 
described in
 Section
53G-9-404
;
(u) information related to the Utah Registry of Autism and Developmental Disabilities,
described in Section 
26-7-4
;
(v) student injury information;
(w) a disciplinary record created and maintained as described in Section 
53E-9-306
;
(x) juvenile delinquency records;
(y) English language learner status; and
(z) child find and special education evaluation data related to initiation of an IEP.
(16) (a) "Optional student data" means student data that is not:
(i) necessary student data; or
(ii) student data that an education entity may not collect under Section 
53E-9-305
.
(b) "Optional student data" includes:
(i) information that is:
(A) related to an IEP or needed to provide special needs services; and
(B) not necessary student data;
(ii) biometric information; and
(iii) information that is not necessary student data and that is required for a student to
participate in a federal or other program.
(17) "Parent" means:
(a) a student's parent;
(b) a student's legal guardian; or
(c) an individual who has written authorization from a student's parent or legal
guardian to act as a parent or legal guardian on behalf of the student.
(18) (a) "Personally identifiable student data" means student data that identifies or is
used by the holder to identify a student.
(b) "Personally identifiable student data" includes:
(i) a student's first and last name;
(ii) the first and last name of a student's family member;
(iii) a student's or a student's family's home or physical address;
(iv) a student's email address or other online contact information;
(v) a student's telephone number;
(vi) a student's social security number;
(vii) a student's biometric identifier;
(viii) a student's health or disability data;
(ix) a student's education entity student identification number;
(x) a student's social media user name and password or alias;
(xi) if associated with personally identifiable student data, the student's persistent
identifier, including:
(A) a customer number held in a cookie; or
(B) a processor serial number;
(xii) a combination of a student's last name or photograph with other information that
together permits a person to contact the student online;
(xiii) information about a student or a student's family that a person collects online and
combines with other personally identifiable student data to identify the student; and
(xiv) information that, alone or in combination, is linked or linkable to a specific
student that would allow a reasonable person in the school community, who does not have
personal knowledge of the relevant circumstances, to identify the student with reasonable
certainty.
(19) "School official" means an employee or agent of an education entity, if the
education entity has authorized the employee or agent to request or receive student data on
behalf of the education entity.
(20) (a) "Student data" means information about a student at the individual student
level.
(b) "Student data" does not include aggregate or de-identified data.
(21) "Student data manager" means:
(a) the state student data officer; or
(b) an individual designated as a student data manager by an education entity under
Section 
53E-9-303
, who fulfills the duties described in Section 
53E-9-308
.
(22) (a) "Targeted advertising" means presenting advertisements to a student where the
advertisement is selected based on information obtained or inferred over time from that
student's online behavior, usage of applications, or student data.
(b) "Targeted advertising" does not include advertising to a student:
(i) at an online location based upon that student's current visit to that location; or
(ii) in response to that student's request for information or feedback, without retention
of that student's online activities or requests over time for the purpose of targeting subsequent
ads.
(23) "Third-party contractor" means a person who:
(a) is not an education entity; and
(b) pursuant to a contract with an education entity, collects or receives student data in
order to provide a product or service, as described in the contract, if the product or service is
not related to school photography, yearbooks, graduation announcements, or a similar product
or service.
(24) "Written consent" means written authorization to collect or share a student's
student data, from:
(a) the student's parent, if the student is not an adult student; or
(b) the student, if the student is an adult student.
Section 4. Section 
53G-9-404
 is repealed and reenacted to read:
 53G-9-404.
Public education vision screening.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Health care professional" means an individual licensed under:
(i) Title 58, Chapter 16a, Utah Optometry Practice Act;
(ii) Title 58, Chapter 31b, Nurse Practice Act, if the individual is licensed for the
practice of advance practice registered nursing, as defined in Section 
58-31b-102
;
(iii) Title 58, Chapter 42a, Occupational Therapy Practice Act;
(iv) Title 58, Chapter 67, Utah Medical Practice Act;
(v) Title 58, Chapter 68, Utah Osteopathic Medical Practice Act; or
(vi) Title 58, Chapter 70a, Physician Assistant Act.
(b) "Qualifying child" means a child who:
(i) attends an LEA;
(ii) is at least three years old; and
(iii) is not yet 16 years old.
(c) "Tier one vision screening" means a lower-level evaluation of an individual's
vision, as determined by Department of Health rule.
(d) "Tier two vision screening" means an individual, higher-level evaluation of an
individual's vision, as determined by Department of Health rule.
(2) The Department of Health shall oversee public education vision screening, as
described in this section.
(3) A child who is less than nine years old and has not yet attended public school in the
state shall, before attending a public school in the state, provide:
(a) a completed vision screening form, described in Subsection (5)(a)(i), that is signed
by a health care professional; or
(b) a written statement signed by a parent that the child will not be screened before
attending public school in the state.
(4) The Department of Health shall prepare and provide:
(a) training for a school nurse who supervises an LEA tier one vision screening clinic;
and
(b) an online training module for a potential volunteer for an LEA tier one vision
screening clinic.
(5) (a) The Department of Health shall provide a template for:
(i) a form for use by a health care professional under Subsection (3)(a) to certify that a
child has received an adequate vision screening; and
(ii) a referral form used for the referral and follow up of a qualifying child after a tier
one or tier two vision screening.
(b) A template described in Subsection (5)(a) shall include the following statement: "A
screening is not a substitute for a complete eye exam and vision evaluation by an eye doctor."
(6) The Department of Health shall make rules to:
(a) generally provide for and require the administration of tier one vision screening in
accordance with this section, including an opt-out process;
(b) describe standards and procedures for tier one vision screening, including referral
and follow up protocols and reporting a student's significant vision impairment results to the
Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind;
(c) outline the qualifications of and parameters for the use of an outside entity to
supervise an LEA tier one vision screening clinic when an LEA does not have a school nurse to
supervise an LEA tier one vision screening clinic;
(d) determine when a potential volunteer at an LEA tier one vision screening clinic has
a conflict of interest, including if the potential volunteer could profit financially from
volunteering;
(e) determine the regularity of tier one vision screening in order to ensure that a
qualifying child receives tier one vision screening at particular intervals; and
(f) provide for tier two vision screening for a qualifying child, including:
(i) in coordination with the state board, determining mandatory and optional tier two
vision screening for a qualifying child;
(ii) identification of and training for an individual who provides tier two vision
screening;
(iii) (A) the creation of a symptoms questionnaire that includes questions for a
nonprofessionally trained individual to identify an eye focusing or tracking problem as well as
convergence insufficiency of a qualifying child; and
(B) protocol on how to administer the symptoms questionnaire in coordination with
tier two vision screening;
(iv) general standards, procedures, referral, and follow up protocol; and
(v) aggregate reporting requirements.
(7) (a) In accordance with Department of Health oversight and rule and Subsection
(7)(b), an LEA shall conduct free tier one vision screening clinics for all qualifying children
who attend the LEA or a school within the LEA.
(b) If the parent of a qualifying child requests that the qualifying child not participate in
a tier one or tier two vision screening, an LEA may not require the qualifying child to receive
the tier one or tier two vision screening.
(8) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (8)(b), a school nurse shall supervise an LEA
tier one vision screening clinic as well as provide referral and followup services.
(b) If an LEA does not have a school nurse to supervise an LEA tier one vision
screening clinic, an LEA may, in accordance with Department of Health rule, use an outside
entity to supervise an LEA tier one vision screening clinic.
(9) (a) An LEA shall ensure that a volunteer who assists with an LEA tier one vision
screening clinic:
(i) (A) is trained by a school nurse; or
(B) demonstrates successful completion of the training module described in Subsection
(4)(b);
(ii) complies with the requirements of Subsection (9)(c); and
(iii) is supervised by a school nurse or, in accordance with Subsection (8)(b), an
outside entity.
(b) In accordance with Department of Health rule, an LEA may exclude a person from
volunteering at an LEA tier one vision screening clinic if the person has a conflict of interest,
including if the person could profit financially from volunteering.
(c) A volunteer who assists with an LEA tier one vision screening clinic may not
market, advertise, or promote a business in connection with assisting at the LEA tier one vision
screening clinic.
(d) A volunteer who assists with an LEA tier one vision screening clinic is not liable
for damages that result from an act or omission related to the LEA tier one vision screening
clinic, if the act or omission is not willful or grossly negligent.