By Gutierrez H.B. No. 1860
76R4724 CMR-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to acanthosis nigricans screening in public and private
1-3 schools.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Chapter 47 to read as follows:
1-7 CHAPTER 47. SCREENING FOR ACANTHOSIS NIGRICANS
1-8 Sec. 47.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-9 (1) "Acanthosis nigricans" means a light brown or
1-10 black velvety, rough, or thickened area on the surface of the skin
1-11 that may signal high insulin levels indicative of insulin
1-12 resistance.
1-13 (2) "Professional examination" means a diagnostic
1-14 evaluation performed by an appropriately licensed professional.
1-15 (3) "School" means an educational institution that
1-16 admits children who are five years of age or older but younger than
1-17 21 years of age.
1-18 (4) "Screening test" means a rapid analytical
1-19 procedure to determine the need for further diagnostic evaluation.
1-20 Sec. 47.002. SCREENING PROGRAM FOR ACANTHOSIS NIGRICANS.
1-21 (a) The board by rule shall require screening of individuals who
1-22 attend public or private schools to detect acanthosis nigricans. In
1-23 developing the rules, the board may consider the number of
1-24 individuals to be screened and the availability of personnel
2-1 qualified to administer the required screening.
2-2 (b) The rules must include procedures necessary to
2-3 administer screening activities.
2-4 (c) The board shall require acanthosis nigricans screening
2-5 to be performed at the same time hearing and vision screening is
2-6 performed under Chapter 36.
2-7 (d) The department may coordinate the acanthosis nigricans
2-8 screening activities of school districts, private schools, state
2-9 agencies, volunteer organizations, and other entities so that the
2-10 efforts of each entity are complementary and not fragmented and
2-11 duplicative. The department may provide technical assistance to
2-12 those entities in developing screening programs and may provide
2-13 educational and other material to assist local screening
2-14 activities.
2-15 (e) The department shall monitor the quality of screening
2-16 activities provided under this chapter.
2-17 Sec. 47.003. COMPLIANCE WITH SCREENING REQUIREMENTS. (a)
2-18 Each individual required by board rule to be screened shall undergo
2-19 approved screening for acanthosis nigricans. The individual shall
2-20 comply with the requirements as soon as possible after the
2-21 individual's admission to a school and annually as required by
2-22 board rule. The individual or, if the individual is a minor, the
2-23 minor's parent, managing conservator, or guardian may substitute a
2-24 professional examination for the screening.
2-25 (b) An individual is exempt from screening if screening
2-26 conflicts with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or
2-27 religious denomination of which the individual is an adherent or a
3-1 member. To qualify for the exemption, the individual or, if the
3-2 individual is a minor, the individual's parent, managing
3-3 conservator, or guardian, must submit to the chief administrator of
3-4 the school on or before the day of the screening procedure an
3-5 affidavit stating the objections to the screening.
3-6 (c) The chief administrator of each school shall ensure that
3-7 each individual admitted to the school complies with the screening
3-8 requirements set by the board or submits an affidavit of exemption.
3-9 Sec. 47.004. RECORDS; REPORTS. (a) The chief administrator
3-10 of each school shall maintain, on a form prescribed by the
3-11 department, screening records for each individual in attendance,
3-12 and the records are open for inspection by the department or the
3-13 local health department.
3-14 (b) The department may, directly or through local health
3-15 departments, enter a school and inspect records maintained by the
3-16 school relating to screening for acanthosis nigricans.
3-17 (c) An individual's screening records may be transferred
3-18 among schools without the consent of the individual or, if the
3-19 individual is a minor, the minor's parent, managing conservator, or
3-20 guardian.
3-21 (d) The person performing the screening shall send a report
3-22 indicating that an individual may have acanthosis nigricans to the
3-23 individual or, if the individual is a minor, the minor's parent,
3-24 managing conservator, or guardian. The report must include:
3-25 (1) an explanation of acanthosis nigricans and related
3-26 conditions;
3-27 (2) a statement concerning an individual's or family's
4-1 access to financial or medical assistance for evaluation and
4-2 treatment of conditions related to acanthosis nigricans; and
4-3 (3) instructions to help the individual or family
4-4 receive evaluation and treatment.
4-5 (e) Each school shall submit to the department an annual
4-6 report on the screening status of the individuals in attendance
4-7 during the reporting year and shall include in the report any other
4-8 information required by the board. The report must be on a form
4-9 prescribed by the department and must be submitted according to the
4-10 board's rules.
4-11 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999. The
4-12 screening required by this Act shall be conducted beginning with
4-13 the 1999-2000 school year.
4-14 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
4-15 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-16 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-17 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-18 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.