1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; establishing grants to recruit school nurses; expanding 
1.3 	eligibility for loan forgiveness to include school nurses; requiring a report; 
1.4 	appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 144.1501, 
1.5 	subdivision 2; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 122A; 
1.6 	136A.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. [122A.77] SCHOOL NURSE RECRUITMENT GRANTS.
1.9 		Subdivision 1.Establishment. The commissioner of education must award grants for 
1.10 	school nurse recruitment programs established under this section.
1.11 		Subd. 2.District staff program. (a) A school district may apply for a grant to establish 
1.12 	a school nurse training program in partnership with a postsecondary institution. The 
1.13 	partnership may also include participation from another school district, charter school, 
1.14 	hospital, health system, or municipality to develop a program under this subdivision. The 
1.15 	program must provide district staff or volunteers with an opportunity to obtain credentials 
1.16 	necessary to work as a school nurse in a school district.
1.17 	(b) Grant funds may be used for the following:
1.18 	(1) tuition scholarships or stipends;
1.19 	(2) exam or licensure application fees; and
1.20 	(3) recruitment of eligible participants.
1.21 		Subd. 3.Secondary school student program. (a) A district may use grant funds to 
1.22 	develop and offer courses, including postsecondary course options under section 124D.09 
2.1 	and career and technical education courses, that introduce students to health careers and 
2.2 	encourage students to pursue careers in nursing.
2.3 	(b) Grant funds may be used to:
2.4 	(1) support future nurse clubs or service-learning opportunities that provide secondary 
2.5 	school students with experiential learning that supports students' interest in nursing careers;
2.6 	(2) provide direct support, including wraparound services, for students to enroll and be 
2.7 	successful in courses leading to a nursing credential, including a certified nursing assistant 
2.8 	course; and
2.9 	(3) offer scholarships to graduating high school students to enroll in undergraduate 
2.10 	nursing programs in Minnesota.
2.11 		Subd. 4.Clinical experience grant. A school district may use grant funds to establish 
2.12 	a partnership with a nursing education program. The partnership must provide students in 
2.13 	the nursing program with learning activities in the school setting to expose students to a 
2.14 	career as a school nurse and increase students' hands-on learning.
2.15 		Subd. 5.Application and report. (a) A district must apply for a grant under this section 
2.16 	in the form and manner specified by the commissioner.
2.17 	(b) Grant recipients must report to the commissioner in the form and manner determined 
2.18 	by the commissioner on how grant funds were used, the number of participants in the 
2.19 	program, and any data available on the number of participants who enter the nursing 
2.20 	profession. The commissioner must publish a report on the department website that 
2.21 	summarizes how grant funds were used.

2.22 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2023.

2.23 	Sec. 2. [136A.1277] SCHOOL NURSE SCHOLARSHIPS.
2.24 		Subdivision 1.Establishment. The commissioner must establish a scholarship program 
2.25 	for students who intend to work in a school district as a licensed school nurse.
2.26 		Subd. 2.Eligibility. To be eligible for a scholarship under this section, a student must:
2.27 	(1) be enrolled in a nursing education program approved by the Board of Nursing;
2.28 	(2) demonstrate financial need based on criteria established by the commissioner;
2.29 	(3) be meeting satisfactory academic progress as defined under section 136A.101, 
2.30 	subdivision 10; and
3.1 	(4) intend to work as a school nurse in a Minnesota school district. To verify intent to 
3.2 	work in a school district, the student must submit to the commissioner a completed affidavit, 
3.3 	prescribed by the commissioner, affirming the student's intent to work in a district following 
3.4 	graduation. Upon obtaining employment after graduating, the nurse must report to the office 
3.5 	the name of the school district in which the nurse is working.
3.6 		Subd. 3.Administration. (a) The commissioner must establish an application process 
3.7 	and other guidelines for implementing this program.
3.8 	(b) The commissioner must determine each academic year the scholarship amount up 
3.9 	to $7,500 based on the amount of available funding, the number of eligible applicants, and 
3.10 	the financial need of the applicants. The commissioner must prorate scholarship award 
3.11 	amounts for students enrolled less than full time.
3.12 		Subd. 4.Reporting. By February 1 of each year, the commissioner must submit a report 
3.13 	to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction 
3.14 	over kindergarten through grade 12 education and higher education finance and policy. The 
3.15 	report must include the following information:
3.16 	(1) the total number of awards, the total dollar amount of all awards, and the average 
3.17 	award amount;
3.18 	(2) the number of eligible applicants and the number of student nurses receiving an 
3.19 	award, each broken down by postsecondary institution; and
3.20 	(3) other summary data identified by the commissioner as outcome indicators, including 
3.21 	how many student nurses awarded a scholarship were employed in a school district after 
3.22 	graduation.

3.23 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2023.

3.24 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 144.1501, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
3.25 		Subd. 2.Creation of account. (a) A health professional education loan forgiveness 
3.26 	program account is established. The commissioner of health shall use money from the 
3.27 	account to establish a loan forgiveness program:
3.28 	(1) for medical residents, mental health professionals, and alcohol and drug counselors 
3.29 	agreeing to practice in designated rural areas or underserved urban communities or 
3.30 	specializing in the area of pediatric psychiatry;
4.1 	(2) for midlevel practitioners agreeing to practice in designated rural areas or to teach 
4.2 	at least 12 credit hours, or 720 hours per year in the nursing field in a postsecondary program 
4.3 	at the undergraduate level or the equivalent at the graduate level;
4.4 	(3) for nurses who agree to practice in a Minnesota nursing home; an intermediate care 
4.5 	facility for persons with developmental disability; a hospital if the hospital owns and operates 
4.6 	a Minnesota nursing home and a minimum of 50 percent of the hours worked by the nurse 
4.7 	is in the nursing home; a housing with services establishment as defined in section 144D.01, 
4.8 	subdivision 4; a school district or charter school; or for a home care provider as defined in 
4.9 	section 144A.43, subdivision 4; or agree to teach at least 12 credit hours, or 720 hours per 
4.10 	year in the nursing field in a postsecondary program at the undergraduate level or the 
4.11 	equivalent at the graduate level;
4.12 	(4) for other health care technicians agreeing to teach at least 12 credit hours, or 720 
4.13 	hours per year in their designated field in a postsecondary program at the undergraduate 
4.14 	level or the equivalent at the graduate level. The commissioner, in consultation with the 
4.15 	Healthcare Education-Industry Partnership, shall determine the health care fields where the 
4.16 	need is the greatest, including, but not limited to, respiratory therapy, clinical laboratory 
4.17 	technology, radiologic technology, and surgical technology;
4.18 	(5) for pharmacists, advanced dental therapists, dental therapists, and public health nurses 
4.19 	who agree to practice in designated rural areas; and
4.20 	(6) for dentists agreeing to deliver at least 25 percent of the dentist's yearly patient 
4.21 	encounters to state public program enrollees or patients receiving sliding fee schedule 
4.22 	discounts through a formal sliding fee schedule meeting the standards established by the 
4.23 	United States Department of Health and Human Services under Code of Federal Regulations, 
4.24 	title 42, section 51, chapter 303.
4.25 	(b) Appropriations made to the account do not cancel and are available until expended, 
4.26 	except that at the end of each biennium, any remaining balance in the account that is not 
4.27 	committed by contract and not needed to fulfill existing commitments shall cancel to the 
4.28 	fund.

4.29 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2023.

4.30 	Sec. 4. APPROPRIATIONS; SCHOOL NURSE RECRUITMENT.
 4.31 		Subdivision 1.Department of Education. The sums indicated in this section are 
4.32 	appropriated from the general fund to the Department of Education in the fiscal years 
4.33 	designated.
5.1 		Subd. 2.School nurse recruitment grants. (a) For school nurse recruitment grants 
5.2 	under Minnesota Statutes, section 122A.77:

5.3		$
	.......
	.....
	2024
	
5.4		$
	.......
	.....
	2025
	
5.5 	(b) The base for fiscal year 2026 is $........
5.6 		Subd. 3.School nurse scholarships. (a) For transfer to the commissioner of higher 
5.7 	education for scholarships under Minnesota Statutes, section 136A.1277:

5.8		$
	.......
	.....
	2024
	
5.9		$
	.......
	.....
	2025
	
5.10 	(b) The base for fiscal year 2026 is $........

5.11 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2023.