Three House bills affecting the care and education of the state’s youngest residents sailed through the Senate late Thursday and are headed to the governor for his signature.
The bills, all sponsored by Rep. Teresa Schooley, D-Newark, passed unanimously.
House Substitute for House Bill 119, gives schools more financial flexibility to shift public dollars into the classroom and away from administrative overhead.
House Bill 139 allows parents whose income exceeds the current limits for the Children's Health Insurance Program to purchase coverage. This will cost the state nothing because parents would buy into the program at the price the state would have spent.
House Bill 199 requires insurance carriers to cover developmental screenings for infants and toddlers, which has been recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Early screenings, which cost about 3 cents per policy holder, will improve the detection of developmental problems and allow more effective treatment, proponents said.
The three bills were part of a package of five child-centered pieces of legislation advocated by Lt. Gov. Matt Denn, who held a rally outside Legislative Hall on Thursday to promote them. The two other bills, which both originated in the House, also passed the Senate later that day.
One replaces the Delaware Student Testing Program with a computerized test that students will take at least twice a year to benchmark their progress, with their highest results counting. The other bill creates a two-year academic achievement awards program to give financial incentives to the schools that make the most progress in educating at-risk children. The awards would be paid for using federal stimulus money.
