No. CS/HB 1091
Filed under Healthcare.
Dental Screenings For K-12 Students; Authorizes dental screenings provided under school health services program to be conducted after written notice & opportunity for parent or guardian to opt out; clarifies district school board parent notification requirements for dental screenings; & provides that specified parental consent requirements do not apply to certain dental screenings.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDSchools may now screen students for visible signs of dental disease after giving written notice, unless a parent or guardian submits a written request to exempt their child, replacing any need for the parent's advance affirmative consent.
A "dental screening" is defined as a limited, noninvasive visual check of the mouth. It excludes diagnosis, treatment, and any instrument that penetrates tissue. Written parental consent is still required before any invasive procedure.
These dental screenings are also formally exempted from Florida's general law on parental consent for health care services, instead following only the notice-and-opt-out process in the school health statute.
AICreates a legal definition of "dental screening" for the first time: a limited, noninvasive visual check of the mouth for obvious signs of disease. It excludes diagnosis, treatment, tissue-penetrating instruments, and comprehensive exams, and is explicitly not an invasive screening.
AIAt both nonpublic schools in the program and public school districts, a dental screening covered by the preventive dental program may be given once parents get written notice and a reasonable chance to request an exemption in writing, without needing advance signed consent.
AIAdds a new subsection stating that Florida's general law on parental consent for health care services does not apply to a defined dental screening provided under the preventive dental program, leaving only the school-health notice-and-opt-out process in place.
AIAdds a cross-reference stating that a defined dental screening under the preventive dental program may be provided under s. 381.0056, rather than under the general parental notice-and-consent language that otherwise governs each health care service.