Bill > HR3197

This bill, the Nurses for Under-Resourced Schools Everywhere (NURSE) Act, aims to establish a demonstration grant program to increase the number of school nurses in public elementary and secondary schools. The key provisions include: 1. Defining eligible entities as local educational agencies where at least 20% of students are eligible for the school lunch program, or consortia of such agencies, or state educational agencies partnering with these local agencies. 2. Authorizing the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to these eligible entities to fund the hiring of additional school nurses, including allowing funding for nurses to serve multiple school districts. 3. Prioritizing grants for high-need local educational agencies, those serving at least 15,000 low-income students or where 40% of students are eligible for the school lunch program. 4. Requiring a decreasing federal share over the grant period to encourage continuity of increased nursing services using state/local funding after the grant ends. 5. Providing the Secretary authority to waive or reduce the non-federal funding share for entities demonstrating economic hardship. 6. Mandating a report to Congress evaluating the program's effectiveness in increasing school nurses and the impact on student health and learning.