Two bills addressing school staffing needs for nurses and counselors were approved Tuesday by the House Education Committee.

The committee voted 14-12 for House Bill 2285, sponsored by Rep. Lisa Borowski, D-Delaware, and voted 14-12 for House Bill 2218 sponsored by Rep. Mandy Steele, D-Allegheny.

Both votes fell along party lines with Democrats supporting and Republicans opposed.

The debate over both bills took place in the context of setting state requirements versus providing state funding in the Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget.

HB2285 sets a desired ratio of having one certified school nurse for every 750 students in a school, replacing a current ratio of one nurse for every 1,500 nurses. The bill increases the state reimbursement rate for school health funding.

Schools face a nursing shortage when student medical needs are more complex than ever with chronic health conditions, medications and a mental health crisis, said Steele.

Steele related that a school nurse told her of seeing 100 students in one day.

HB2285 lacks any penalty for schools failing to meet the new ratio. That prompted Rep. Marc Andersen, R-York, to question what a school should do if it can’t find nurses to hire.

Committee Majority Chair Peter Schweyer, D-Lehigh, said it’s time for lawmakers to address school health needs after tackling issues like basic education funding and stipends for student teachers.

Committee Minority Chair Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, urged a no vote, saying the issue of a school nurse shortage is better addressed in budget negotiations. Cutler said he supports targeted funding for that.

School counselors

HB2218 requires each school to implement a comprehensive school counselor services plan. One goal is to prevent school counselors from being reassigned to temporary duties like substitute teaching and ensure they spend a majority of their time counseling students.

Counselors are frequently wearing multiple hats during the school day amidst a student mental health crisis, said Steele. They need to focus on issues involving anxiety, depression, eating disorders and suicide threats.

Cutler again said the counselor issue is best handled in budget negotiations. He said he supports targeted state funding.