SB 24-142

Senate Bill 24-142 establishes a pilot program in Colorado that will provide free oral health screenings for kindergarten and third-grade students at five selected school sites. The goal is to assess the effectiveness of these screenings in reducing dental issues among children, especially those from underserved communities. The bill allocates funding for this initiative and requires detailed reporting on its outcomes by 2027, after which a plan will be developed to implement oral health screenings statewide if successful. This program aims to improve the oral health of young students across Colorado.

Official Summary

The act amends the Colorado oral health community grants program administered by the department of public health and environment (department) to award grants for the implementation of oral health screening in public schools through the oral health screening pilot program (pilot program) created in the act. The purpose of the pilot program is to provide oral health screening to students in kindergarten and third grade at a minimum of 5 pilot program sites at school districts or schools of a school district, charter schools, institute charter schools, or boards of cooperative services (local education providers) to demonstrate the effectiveness of oral health screening in kindergarten and third grade in reducing dental decay, the costs of providing oral health screening to students, and best practices for providing oral health screening that could be scaled statewide. The department shall award at least 5 oral health screening grants to oral health screeners to conduct oral health screening activities in schools of local education providers. In selecting screening locations, the department shall select locations that represent a variety of school settings, including large and small local education providers in urban, rural, and frontier areas of the state, with priority given to schools with students who are likely to experience higher rates of undetected oral health concerns. The act includes requirements for the pilot program regarding: Qualifications for participating oral health screeners; The oral health screening; The selection by the department of an oral health screening tool; Notice to parents and legal guardians (parents), including the ability of parents to refuse oral health screening for their children; Reporting to parents about the outcome of the oral health screening and information and referral if dental concerns are identified for a student; and The protection of confidential health data. After completing oral health screening at a pilot program site during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, no later than July 31, 2025, and July 31, 2026, respectively, a participating oral health screener shall provide data and information to the department for purposes of evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot program, including the number of students screened and oral health concerns identified, as well as other relevant data and information as determined by the department. On or before December 1, 2027, the department of education shall develop a plan for implementation of oral health screening in kindergarten and third grade in all public schools. No later than January 15, 2027, the department shall submit a report of the findings concerning the pilot program and its plan for implementation of oral health screening in all public schools to the health and human services and education committees of the house of representatives and of the senate, or their successor committees, and the department of education. The pilot program repeals July 1, 2031, after the screening and reporting on the pilot program is completed. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, $84,425 is appropriated from the general fund to the department for use by the prevention services division to implement the pilot program. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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