I 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 305 

To authorize the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program 

to assist local educational agencies with ensuring that each elementary 

and secondary school has at least one registered nurse on staff. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2025 

Ms. WILSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Education to carry out a 

grant program to assist local educational agencies with 

ensuring that each elementary and secondary school has 

at least one registered nurse on staff. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘One School, One Nurse 

5 Act of 2025’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE; FINDINGS. 

2 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to assist 

3 States and local educational agencies with ensuring that 

4 every elementary and secondary school has at least one 

5 full-time registered nurse on staff, and to maintain rec6 ommended nurse-to-student ratios, including through the 

7 recruitment, hiring, and retention of registered nurses. 

8 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) According to the American Academy of Pe10 diatrics, every elementary and secondary school 

11 should have at least one full-time registered nurse 

12 on staff. 

13 (2) According to the National Center for Edu14 cation Statistics, during the 2015–2016 school year, 

15 only about half of all public schools had a full-time 

16 registered nurse and nearly 20 percent did not have 

17 any nurse on staff. Schools with higher free or re18 duced-price lunch program eligibility rates had lower 

19 rates of school nurses. 

20 (3) According to the Georgetown University 

21 Center for Children and Families, in 2019, roughly 

22 6 percent of children in the United States were un23 insured. 

24 (4) For children who lack health care coverage, 

25 a school nurse is often a critical source of health 

26 services. 


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1 (5) Studies suggest that schools with a full-time 

2 registered nurse experience far-reaching benefits in3 cluding fewer student absences, students spending 

4 more time in class, more accurate medical records, 

5 higher immunization rates, fewer student preg6 nancies, and better health outcomes for students 

7 with asthma or diabetes. 

8 (6) School nurses play a critical role in helping 

9 to manage the chronic physical, emotional, mental, 

10 and social health needs of students, conduct health 

11 screenings, facilitate vaccinations and immunization 

12 compliance efforts, reduce burdens on educators and 

13 other school staff, and support a positive and 

14 healthy school climate. 

15 SEC. 3. ONE SCHOOL, ONE NURSE GRANT PROGRAM. 

16 (a) GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—Not later than 

17 12 months after the date of enactment of this section, the 

18 Secretary shall establish a program to award grants, on 

19 a competitive basis, to eligible entities to carry out the 

20 activities under subsection (d). Grants awarded under this 

21 section shall be for a period of 5 years. 

22 (b) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity desiring a grant 

23 under this section shall submit an application to the Sec24 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 


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1 information as the Secretary may require. Such applica2 tion shall include— 

3 (1) a needs assessment of the eligible entity 

4 that demonstrates the existence of persistent short5 ages of school nurses or persistent shortages of full6 time school nurses; 

7 (2) a description of the health and wellness 

8 needs of the student population served by the eligible 

9 entity; 

10 (3) a comprehensive plan for the use of grant 

11 funds to address persistent shortages described in 

12 the needs assessment under paragraph (1), including 

13 a description of how such activities shall address the 

14 health and wellness needs described under paragraph 

15 (2) and how such funds will be used to ensure that 

16 the eligible entity will continue to employ and retain 

17 school nurses after the completion of the grant pe18 riod; and 

19 (4) a description of how the eligible entity will 

20 prioritize recruiting individuals from the commu21 nities served by the eligible entity and from under22 represented populations in public health professions 

23 (as determined by the Secretary by regulation), and 

24 how the eligible entity will track progress in meeting 

25 any specified hiring goals. 


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1 (c) SELECTION AND PRIORITY.—In awarding grants 

2 under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligi3 ble entities that— 

4 (1) are a high-need local educational agency, or 

5 are a partnership between a State educational agen6 cy and a consortium of high-need local educational 

7 agencies; and 

8 (2) describe and set specific hiring goals to9 wards increasing the share of school nurses who are 

10 from underrepresented populations in public health 

11 professions. 

12 (d) ACTIVITIES.—Grant funds awarded under this 

13 section shall be used by an eligible entity to carry out one 

14 or more of the following activities: 

15 (1) Recruit and hire school nurses. 

16 (2) Provide resources necessary to convert part17 time school nurse positions at elementary or sec18 ondary schools served by the eligible entity into full19 time school nurse positions. 

20 (3) Support the retention of school nurses, in21 cluding by increasing salaries. 

22 (4) Maintain recommended nurse-to-student ra23 tios (as determined by the Secretary by regulation). 

24 (e) REPORTING.—Each eligible entity awarded a 

25 grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an 


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1 annual report for each year of the grant award. Such re2 port shall include— 

3 (1) a summary of the eligible entity’s progress 

4 in employing at least one full-time registered nurse 

5 at each elementary and secondary school served by 

6 the eligible entity and maintaining recommended 

7 nurse-to-student ratios (as determined by the Sec8 retary by regulation); 

9 (2) data on the number and percentage of full10 time and part-time school nurses, disaggregated by 

11 major racial and ethnic groups and gender, em12 ployed at each elementary and secondary school 

13 served by the eligible entity; and 

14 (3) a summary of any progress made by the eli15 gible entity in addressing the health and wellness 

16 needs identified in the needs assessment required 

17 under subsection (b)(2) as a result of activities car18 ried out with a grant under this section. 

19 (f) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later than 12 

20 months after the date of enactment of this section, the 

21 Secretary shall— 

22 (1) in consultation with the Secretary of Health 

23 and Human Services— 


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1 (A) specify in regulation the recommended 

2 nurse-to-student ratios for elementary and sec3 ondary schools; 

4 (B) provide for guidance and other tech5 nical assistance to eligible entities with respect 

6 to achieving and maintaining such ratios; and 

7 (C) specify in regulation the definition of 

8 ‘‘underrepresented populations in public health 

9 professions’’ for the purposes of this section; 

10 and 

11 (2) in consultation with the Secretary of Health 

12 and Human Services and the Secretary of Labor, 

13 specify in regulation the definition of ‘‘full-time’’ 

14 with respect to school nurses for the purposes of this 

15 section. 

16 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti18 ty’’ means— 

19 (A) a local educational agency; or 

20 (B) a partnership between a State edu21 cational agency and a consortium of local edu22 cational agencies in the State, entered into for 

23 the purposes of a grant under this section. 

24 (2) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN25 CY.—The term ‘‘high-need local educational agency’’ 


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1 has the meaning given such term in section 200 of 

2 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

3 1021). 

4 (3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; STATE EDU5 CATIONAL AGENCY.—The terms ‘‘local educational 

6 agency’’ and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the 

7 meanings given such terms in section 8101 of the 

8 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

9 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

10 (4) SCHOOL NURSE.—The term ‘‘school nurse’’ 

11 means a registered nurse who is employed by a 

12 school or local educational agency or State or State 

13 educational agency and is qualified under State law 

14 to provide assessment, diagnosis, counseling, edu15 cational, therapeutic, and other health services to 

16 meet student needs. 

17 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

18 the Secretary of Education. 

Æ 


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