By Madla                                               S.B. No. 519
       74R5278 PB-F
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to peer assistance and reporting programs for students
    1-3  enrolled in certain professional educational programs.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Section 467.001, Health and Safety Code, is
    1-6  amended by adding Subdivisions (7) and (8) to read as follows:
    1-7              (7)  "Student" means an individual enrolled in an
    1-8  educational program or course of study leading to initial licensure
    1-9  as a professional.
   1-10              (8)  "Impaired student" means a student whose ability
   1-11  to perform the services of the profession for which the student is
   1-12  preparing for licensure would be, or would reasonably be expected
   1-13  to be, impaired by chemical dependency on drugs or alcohol or by
   1-14  mental illness.
   1-15        SECTION 2.  Chapter 467, Health and Safety Code, is amended
   1-16  by adding Section 467.0035 to read as follows:
   1-17        Sec. 467.0035.  PROVISION OF SERVICES TO STUDENTS.  (a)  An
   1-18  approved peer assistance program may provide services to impaired
   1-19  students.  A program that elects to provide services to impaired
   1-20  students is not required to provide the same level of services to
   1-21  those students that it provides to impaired professionals.
   1-22        (b)  An approved peer assistance program that provides
   1-23  services to students shall comply with any criteria for those
   1-24  services that are adopted by the appropriate licensing authority.
    2-1        SECTION 3.  Article 4525a, Revised Statutes, is amended by
    2-2  adding Section 1B to read as follows:
    2-3        Sec. 1B.  REPORTS REGARDING NURSING STUDENTS.  (a)  A
    2-4  professional nursing educational program or a registered nurse who
    2-5  has reasonable cause to suspect that the ability of a professional
    2-6  nursing student to perform the services of the nursing profession
    2-7  would be, or would reasonably be expected to be, impaired by
    2-8  chemical dependency shall report in a signed, written report to the
    2-9  board the identity of the student and any additional information
   2-10  required for such a report by the board.
   2-11        (b)  In lieu of reporting to the board, a registered nurse
   2-12  required to report under this section may report the student to the
   2-13  professional nursing educational program in which the student is
   2-14  enrolled.
   2-15        (c)  In this section:
   2-16              (1)  "Professional nursing educational program" means a
   2-17  board-accredited educational program leading to initial licensure
   2-18  as a registered nurse.
   2-19              (2)  "Professional nursing student" means an individual
   2-20  who is enrolled in a professional nursing educational program.
   2-21        SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
   2-22        SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-23  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-24  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-25  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-26  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.