S.B. No. 415
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to a risk assessment program for Type 2 diabetes and the
  creation of the Type 2 Diabetes Risk Assessment Program Advisory
  Committee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  The heading to Chapter 95, Health and Safety
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 95.  RISK ASSESSMENT FOR TYPE 2 DIABETES [ACANTHOSIS
  NIGRICANS SCREENING]
         SECTION 2.  Section 95.001, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by adding Subdivisions (1-a) and (1-b) and amending
  Subdivision (3) to read as follows:
               (1-a)  "Advisory committee" means the Type 2 Diabetes
  Risk Assessment Program Advisory Committee established under
  Section 95.006.
               (1-b)  "Council" means the Texas Diabetes Council.
               (3)  "Office" means [the Texas-Mexico Border Health
  Coordination Office of] The University of Texas-Pan American Border
  Health Office.
         SECTION 3.  Sections 95.002, 95.003, and 95.004, Health and
  Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 95.002.  TYPE 2 DIABETES [ACANTHOSIS NIGRICANS]
  EDUCATION AND RISK ASSESSMENT PROGRAM [SCREENING PROJECT].
  (a)  The office shall administer a risk assessment program for Type
  2 diabetes [an acanthosis nigricans screening program] in
  accordance with this chapter.
         (b)  The office, after reviewing recommendations made by the
  advisory committee, [executive council] by rule shall coordinate
  the risk assessment for Type 2 diabetes [screening] of individuals
  who attend public or private schools located in Texas Education
  Agency Regional Education Service Centers 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 13,
  15, 18, 19, and 20 and, by using existing funding as efficiently as
  possible or by using other available funding, in additional
  regional education service centers.
         (c)  The rules must include procedures necessary to
  administer the risk assessment program, including procedures that
  require each school to record and report risk assessment 
  [screening] activities using:
               (1)  an existing database used to administer and track
  risk assessment data; or
               (2)  widely accepted surveillance software selected by
  the office.
         (d)  The office shall require a risk assessment for Type 2
  diabetes [acanthosis nigricans screening] to be performed at the
  same time hearing and vision screening is performed under Chapter
  36 or spinal screening is performed under Chapter 37. The risk
  assessment for Type 2 diabetes should:
               (1)  identify students with acanthosis nigricans; and
               (2)  further assess students identified under
  Subdivision (1) to determine the students':
                     (A)  body mass index; and
                     (B)  blood pressure.
         (e)  The office may:
               (1)  coordinate the risk assessment for Type 2 diabetes
  [acanthosis nigricans screening] activities of school districts,
  private schools, state agencies, volunteer organizations,
  universities, and other entities so that the efforts of each entity
  are complementary and not fragmented and duplicative; and
               (2)  [.  The office may] provide technical assistance
  to those entities in developing risk assessment [screening]
  programs.
         (f)  The office shall:
               (1)  [and may] provide educational and other material
  to assist local risk assessment [screening] activities;
               (2)  [.  (f)  The office shall] monitor the quality of
  risk assessment [screening] activities provided under this
  chapter; and
               (3)  consult with the Board of Nurse Examiners to
  determine the training requirements necessary for a nurse or other
  person to conduct risk assessment activities under this chapter.
         (g)  The office shall provide on the office's Internet
  website information on obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and related
  conditions to health care providers and update the information at
  least annually.
         Sec. 95.003.  COMPLIANCE WITH RISK ASSESSMENT [SCREENING]
  REQUIREMENTS. (a)  Each individual required by rules adopted under
  this chapter to be assessed [screened] shall undergo approved risk
  assessment [screening] for Type 2 diabetes [acanthosis nigricans].
  The individual shall comply with the requirements as soon as
  possible after the individual's admission to a school and as
  required by rule. The individual or, if the individual is a minor,
  the minor's parent, managing conservator, or guardian may
  substitute a professional examination for the risk assessment
  [screening].
         (b)  An individual is exempt from risk assessment
  [screening] if risk assessment [screening] conflicts with the
  tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious
  denomination of which the individual is an adherent or a member. To
  qualify for the exemption, the individual or, if the individual is a
  minor, the individual's parent, managing conservator, or guardian
  must submit to the chief administrator of the school on or before
  the day of the risk assessment process [screening procedure] an
  affidavit stating the objections to the risk assessment
  [screening].
         (c)  The chief administrator of each school shall ensure that
  each individual admitted to the school complies with the risk
  assessment [screening] requirements set by the office [executive
  council] or submits an affidavit of exemption.
         Sec. 95.004.  RECORDS; REPORTS. (a)  The chief
  administrator of each school shall maintain, on a form prescribed
  by the office, risk assessment [executive council, screening]
  records for each individual in attendance[,] and enter the risk
  assessment information for each individual on the surveillance
  software selected by the office.  The risk assessment [the] records
  are open for inspection by the office or the local health
  department.
         (b)  The office may, directly or through local health
  departments, enter a school and inspect records maintained by the
  school relating to risk assessment [screening] for Type 2 diabetes
  [acanthosis nigricans].
         (c)  An individual's risk assessment [screening] records may
  be transferred among schools without the consent of the individual
  or, if the individual is a minor, the minor's parent, managing
  conservator, or guardian.
         (d)  The person performing the risk assessment [screening]
  shall send a report indicating that an individual may be at risk for
  developing Type 2 diabetes [have acanthosis nigricans] to the
  individual or, if the individual is a minor, the minor's parent,
  managing conservator, or guardian. The report must include:
               (1)  an explanation of:
                     (A)  the process for assessing risk for developing
  Type 2 diabetes;
                     (B)  the reasons the individual was identified in
  the risk assessment process as being at risk for developing Type 2
  diabetes;
                     (C)  the risk factors associated with developing
  Type 2 diabetes; and
                     (D)  the individual's body mass index [acanthosis
  nigricans and related conditions];
               (2)  a statement concerning an individual's or family's
  need for further evaluation for Type 2 diabetes and related [of]
  conditions [related to acanthosis nigricans]; [and]
               (3)  instructions to help the individual or family
  receive evaluation by a physician or other health care provider;
  and
               (4)  information on procedures for applying for the
  state child health plan program and the state Medicaid program [and
  intervention by the school district].
         (e)  Each school shall submit to the office an annual report
  on the risk assessment [screening] status of the individuals in
  attendance during the reporting year and shall include in the
  report any other information required by the office.
         (f)  The report required under Subsection (e) must:
               (1)  be compiled from the information entered into the
  surveillance software;
               (2)  be on a form prescribed by the office; [executive
  council] and
               (3)  [must] be submitted according to the timetable
  established by the office's [executive council's] rules.
         (g)  After the end of the reporting period under Subsection
  (e), the office shall:
               (1)  analyze and compile a summary of the reports
  submitted by schools during that reporting period;
               (2)  file a copy of the summary with the advisory
  committee; and
               (3)  post on an Internet website accessible to each
  school required to submit a report under Subsection (e):
                     (A)  the number of students and the percentage of
  the student population identified by each of those schools during
  the reporting period as at risk for Type 2 diabetes; and
                     (B)  comparison data and analyses regarding the
  information required to be reported under that subsection.
         (h)  The office shall deliver to the chief administrator of
  each school and the school nurse or other person responsible for
  conducting risk assessment activities for the school under this
  chapter an annual summary compilation of the reports submitted by
  schools under Subsection (e).
         (i) [(f)]  Not later than January 15 of each odd-numbered
  year, the office shall submit to the governor and the legislature a
  report relating to [concerning] the implementation and 
  effectiveness of the Type 2 diabetes risk assessment [acanthosis
  nigricans screening] program established by this chapter that
  includes a detailed description of the expenses related to the
  program.
         SECTION 4.  Chapter 95, Health and Safety Code, is amended by
  adding Sections 95.005 and 95.006 to read as follows:
         Sec. 95.005.  GIFTS AND GRANTS.  The office may accept gifts,
  grants, and donations to support the Type 2 diabetes risk
  assessment program conducted under this chapter.
         Sec. 95.006.  ADVISORY COMMITTEE.  (a)  The Type 2 Diabetes
  Risk Assessment Program Advisory Committee is established to advise
  the office on the Type 2 diabetes risk assessment program conducted
  under this chapter.
         (b)  The advisory committee is composed of:
               (1)  the following representatives appointed by the
  executive director of the office:
                     (A)  one representative of the office;
                     (B)  one representative of the Texas Education
  Agency;
                     (C)  one representative of the Texas Pediatric
  Society;
                     (D)  one representative of the American Diabetes
  Association;
                     (E)  one representative who is a member of the
  board of regents of The University of Texas--Pan American;
                     (F)  one school nurse representative from an urban
  school located within the boundaries of a regional education
  service center;
                     (G)  one parent or guardian of a child who resides
  within the boundaries of a regional education service center; and
                     (H)  one person with knowledge and experience in
  health care in school settings; and
               (2)  the following representatives appointed by the
  chairman of the council:
                     (A)  one representative of the council;
                     (B)  one representative of the Texas Medical
  Association;
                     (C)  one school district administrator
  representative from a school district located within the boundaries
  of a regional education service center;
                     (D)  one school principal representative from a
  school district located within the boundaries of a regional
  education service center; and
                     (E)  one school nurse representative from a rural
  school located within the boundaries of a regional education
  service center.
         (c)  A person may not be a member of the advisory committee if
  the person is required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305,
  Government Code, because of the person's activities for
  compensation on behalf of a health care profession or related
  business or another profession related to the operation of the
  council.
         (d)  The representative of the office appointed under
  Subsection (b)(1)(A) shall serve as the presiding officer of the
  advisory committee.
         (e)  The advisory committee shall meet at least twice a year
  and at other times at the call of the presiding officer. The
  advisory committee may meet by teleconference if an in-person
  meeting of all the members is not practicable.
         (f)  Members of the advisory committee may not receive
  compensation for service on the committee. An advisory committee
  member is entitled to reimbursement of travel expenses incurred by
  the member while conducting the business of the advisory committee
  to the extent that funds are available to the office for that
  purpose.
         (g)  Chapter 2110, Government Code, does not apply to the
  size, composition, or duration of the advisory committee.
         (h)  The advisory committee shall:
               (1)  recommend the person who should be responsible for
  conducting risk assessment activities under this chapter for
  schools that do not employ a school nurse;
               (2)  advise the office on the age groups that would
  benefit most from the risk assessment activities under this
  chapter;
               (3)  recommend a method to record and report the number
  of children who are identified in the risk assessment process as
  being at risk for having or developing Type 2 diabetes and who
  qualify for the national free or reduced-price lunch program
  established under 42 U.S.C. Section 1751 et seq.;
               (4)  recommend a deadline, which may not be later than
  the first anniversary of the date the advisory committee submits a
  recommendation to the office under this section, by which the
  office shall implement the advisory committee's recommended risk
  assessment activities, surveillance methods, reports, and quality
  improvements;
               (5)  contribute to the state plan for diabetes
  treatment developed by the council under Section 103.013 by
  providing statistics and information on the risk assessment
  activities conducted under this chapter and recommendations for
  assisting children in this state at risk for developing Type 2
  diabetes; and
               (6)  recommend any additional information to be
  included in the report required by Section 95.004.
         (i)  The advisory committee shall submit to the office a
  report of the recommendations developed under Subsection (h) not
  later than September 1 of each even-numbered year.  The office,
  subject to the availability of funds, shall implement each advisory
  committee recommendation concerning the Type 2 diabetes risk
  assessment program.
         (j)  In this section, "regional education service center" 
  means a Texas Education Agency Regional Education Service Center
  listed in Section 95.002(b).
         SECTION 5.  Subsection (h), Section 110.15, Education Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         (h)  In conducting its activities under this section, the
  center shall consult with [the Texas-Mexico Border Health
  Coordination Office of] The University of Texas-Pan American Border
  Health Office that administers the Type 2 Diabetes risk assessment
  [an acanthosis nigricans screening] program under Chapter 95,
  Health and Safety Code.
         SECTION 6.  Subdivisions (2) and (6), Section 95.001, Health
  and Safety Code, are repealed.
         SECTION 7.  (a)  As soon as practicable after the effective
  date of this Act, the executive director of The University of
  Texas--Pan American Border Health Office shall appoint eight of the
  initial members of the Type 2 Diabetes Risk Assessment Program
  Advisory Committee in accordance with Subdivision (1), Subsection
  (b), Section 95.006, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act.
         (b)  As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
  Act, the chairman of the Texas Diabetes Council shall appoint five
  of the initial members of the Type 2 Diabetes Risk Assessment
  Program Advisory Committee in accordance with Subdivision (2),
  Subsection (b), Section 95.006, Health and Safety Code, as added by
  this Act.
         SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
 
 
 
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 415 passed the Senate on
  May 1, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 415 passed the House on
  May 23, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 144, Nays 0, two
  present not voting.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
 
  Approved:
 
  ______________________________ 
              Date
 
 
  ______________________________ 
            Governor