Pupil records and health: pupils experiencing homelessness: directory information and reporting.

The measure would authorize the disclosure of directory information for pupils identified as homeless to facilitate on-site eye examinations and school-based oral health assessments, provided that a parent or pupil with parental rights has not issued a written opt-out. The author(s) frame this change as a targeted allowance within existing directory-information rules, limiting disclosures to the specified health services and ensuring that consent decisions are documented and respected.

To support eye health access, the bill would enable local educational agencies to enter into memoranda of understanding with nonprofit eye examination providers to deliver eye exams at school sites. Eye examinations would be supplemental to standard vision screenings and would be conducted in accordance with professional standards. Schools would notify parents in advance and provide an opt-out form; a parent who submits a written opt-out would prevent the examination for their child. The legislation would establish immunity provisions for participating licensed health care professionals and for local educational agencies, subject to certain exceptions, and require that exam results be reported to parents or guardians consistent with existing procedures.

For oral health, the measure would mandate that districts ensure proof of an oral health assessment for certain early-entry pupils within the kindergarten program, with the requirement designed to apply once during a two-year window. The bill would require districts to adopt a standardized notification form and provide reasons if an assessment cannot be completed, including options for waivers or opt-outs. Districts would report annual data to a state system, covering totals of students subject to the requirement, those who provide proof, and those for whom the assessment could not be completed due to financial burden, lack of access, or parental non-consent; additional data would capture caries experience, untreated decay, and non-return rates. County offices would maintain the data and could share aggregate information for analysis, while HIPAA-compliant data use for research would be allowed; school districts hosting on-site assessments would permit opt-outs, and the oversight office would evaluate program requirements periodically, with possible private funding and collaboration with the University of California.

The measure’s proponents describe its intent as improving access to preventive eye and oral health services for pupils experiencing homelessness, aligning health services with school-based delivery models and formalizing data collection to inform oversight. Implementation would involve MOUs with providers, standardized notification and opt-out processes, and annual reporting requirements, all operating within existing privacy and civil-liability frameworks. The bill progresses through the Legislature with explicit references to the author’s stated findings and targeted mechanisms, and it remains dependent on appropriation and administrative action for full execution.