To make demonstration grants to eligible local educational agencies for the purpose of reducing the student-to-school nurse ratio in public elementary schools and secondary schools.

Summary: Student-to-School Nurse Ratio Improvement Act of 2011 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make matching demonstration grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) in which the student-to-school nurse ratio in each of their public elementary and secondary schools is 750 or more students to every school nurse to reduce such ratio.

Gives grant priority to LEAs that serve a high number or percentage of impoverished students and demonstrate the greatest need for new or additional nursing services for their students.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Student-to-School Nurse Ratio 
Improvement Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The American Academy of Pediatrics emphasizes the 
        crucial role school nurses have in the seamless provision of 
        comprehensive health services to children and youth, as well as 
        in the development of a coordinated school health program.
            (2) The school nurse functions as a leader and the 
        coordinator of the school health services team, facilitating 
        access to a medical home for each child and supporting school 
        achievement.
            (3) Recent national data indicates 45 percent of public 
        schools have a school nurse all day, every day, while another 
        30 percent of schools have a school nurse who works part time 
        in 1 or more schools.
            (4) The American Nurses Association has reported that when 
        there is no registered nurse on the school premises, the 
        responsibility to administer the necessary medications and 
        treatments, and appropriate monitoring of the children falls on 
        the shoulders of administrators, educators, and staff who are 
        ill-prepared to perform these tasks.
            (5) Statistics from the National Center for Educational 
        Statistics indicate that of the 52,000,000 children who 
        currently spend their day in schools, 16 percent have chronic 
        physical, emotional, or other health problems.
            (6) A recent study indicated that from 2002 to 2008, the 
        percentage of children in special education with health 
        impairments, due to chronic or acute health problems, increased 
        60 percent. Within this group, the rate of autism has doubled 
        since 2002.
            (7) A 40-percent increase in asthma has been seen in the 
        past 10 years, along with nearly 50-percent increase in the 
        incidence of diabetes in the same time period.
            (8) According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 
        students today face increased social issues as well as the need 
        for preventative services and interventions for acute and 
        chronic health issues.
            (9) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report 
        that the percentage of children without health insurance was 
        8.9 percent in 2008, and with over 1,300,000 homeless children 
        in the United States, schools have become the only source of 
        health care for many children and adolescents.
            (10) Communicable and infectious diseases account for 
        millions of school days lost each year. There is reported 
        evidence that school nurses have a positive impact on 
        immunization rates, with fewer parent requested exemptions.
            (11) A recent study showed that students with health 
        concerns attended to by school nurses were able to return to 
        class 95 percent of time, while students attended to by 
        nonlicensed staff were only able to return to class 82 percent 
        of the time.
            (12) Using a formula-based approach for determining a 
        balanced student-to-school nurse ratio offers a reasonable 
        means for achieving better student outcomes.

SEC. 3. REDUCING STUDENT-TO-SCHOOL NURSE RATIOS.

    (a) Demonstration Grants.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Education, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
        and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, may make demonstration grants to eligible local 
        educational agencies for the purpose of reducing the student-
        to-school nurse ratio in public elementary schools and 
        secondary schools.
            (2) Application.--To receive a grant under this section, an 
        eligible local educational agency shall submit to the Secretary 
        of Education an application at such time, in such manner, and 
        containing such information as the Secretary of Education may 
        require, which shall include information with respect to the 
        current ratios of students-to-school nurses in each of the 
        public elementary secondary and secondary schools served by the 
        agency.
            (3) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
        Secretary of Education shall give priority to applications 
        submitted by high-need local educational agencies that 
        demonstrate the greatest need for new or additional nursing 
        services among students in the public elementary secondary and 
        secondary schools served by the agency.
            (4) Matching funds.--The Secretary of Education may require 
        recipients of grants under this section to provide matching 
        funds from non-Federal sources, and shall permit the recipients 
        to match funds in whole or in part with in-kind contributions.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 24 months after the date on which a 
grant is first made to a local educational agency under this section, 
the Secretary of Education shall submit to the Congress a report on the 
results of the demonstration grant program carried out under this 
section, including an evaluation--
            (1) of the effectiveness of the program in reducing the 
        student-to-school nurse ratios described in subsection (a)(1); 
        and
            (2) of the impact of any resulting enhanced health of 
        students on learning.
    (c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            (1) The terms ``elementary school'', ``local educational 
        agency'', ``poverty line'', and ``secondary school'' have the 
        meanings given to those terms in section 9101 of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (2) The term ``eligible local educational agency'' means a 
        local educational agency in which the student-to-school nurse 
        ratio in each public elementary and secondary school served by 
        the agency is 750 or more students to 1 school nurse.
            (3) The term ``high-need local educational agency'' means a 
        local educational agency--
                    (A) that serves not fewer than 10,000 children from 
                families with incomes below the poverty line; or
                    (B) for which not less than 20 percent of the 
                children served by the agency are from families with 
                incomes below the poverty line.
            (4) The term ``nurse'' means a licensed nurse, as defined 
        under State law.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section 
for each of the fiscal years 2012 through 2016.