The New Hampshire House moved to pare back qualifications for school nurses Thursday, approving legislation that would reverse a series of regulations passed in 2016.
In a 233-107 vote, representatives passed House Bill 1217, which would eliminate requirements that school nurses have completed their bachelor’s degree and have three or more years’ experience in the nursing field before working at a school.
Proponents of the bill had called the regulations overly onerous.
Those requirements also demand that school nurse candidates demonstrate skill in 16 separate categories, such as the ability to carry out health assessments through data analysis and develop long-term, outcome-oriented treatment plans.
And school nurses currently must be certified by the Board of Education, on top of the board of nursing.
HB 1217, which moves to the Senate next, would do away with all qualifications except one: that the applicant be a registered nurse licensed in New Hampshire.
The bill came about after school districts said the newly passed regulations are hampering hiring practices. In recent years, the nursing profession has been grappling with staffing problems, proponents said.
Speaking at a hearing last month, some school nurses said the requirements are necessary for a stressful job that demands experience and self-sufficiency.
(Ethan DeWitt can be reached at edewitt@cmonitor.com, or on Twitter at @edewittNH.)