Bill Text: IL HB4274 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Requires the Department of Public Health to do all of the following no later than July 1, 2025: (1) issue guidelines on how to remove and safely store a tick; (2) publish the guidelines issued and a model form on the Department's website; (3) provide public testing lab information to schools; (4) issue a model form that schools shall send to the parents or guardians of students who have been identified as having been bitten by a tick; and (5) make available to schools, upon request and free of charge, tick removal kits consisting of tweezers, bandages, a sealable plastic bag, an alcohol wipe, repellent wipes, an information card, and a tick identification card. Specifies requirements for the form. Amends the School Code. Requires, before the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, a school board to establish procedures on tick removal consistent with the guidelines developed by the Department of Public Health. Includes provisions relating to preserving the tick for possible testing by the parent or guardian and school district immunity for tick removal.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-19 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB4274 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB4274-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4274 Introduced , by Rep. Dan Swanson SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/22-100 new
Amends the School Code. Provides that a school nurse or other designated person employed by a school district shall remove a tick from a student in accordance with guidelines issued by the Department of Public Health. After the tick has been removed, requires (i) the school nurse or other designated person to notify the parent or guardian of the student (and sets forth what the notice must state), (ii) the school to provide the parent or guardian with an information sheet from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Public Health regarding the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever and testing labs for ticks, and (iii) the school to preserve the tick for 72 hours so that the parent or guardian may send the tick to a lab for testing and provide information to the parent or guardian on how to send the tick to a lab for testing (but allows the parent or guardian to give the school permission to dispose of the tick before the 72-hour time period has expired). Provides that the Department of Public Health shall issue guidelines on how to remove a tick, publish those guidelines on the Department of Public Health's Internet website, and, in consultation with the State Board of Education, provide the guidelines to school districts. Provides that a school district and its employees and agents shall incur no liability, except for willful or wanton conduct, as a result of any injury arising from the removal of a tick if the removal of the tick followed the guidelines issued by the Department of Public Health. Effective July 1, 2024.
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STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section
22-100 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/22-100 new)
Sec. 22-100. Tick removal.
(a) A school nurse or other designated person employed by
a school district shall remove a tick from a student in
accordance with guidelines issued by the Department of Public
Health. After removal of the tick, all of the following
requirements apply:
(1) The school nurse or other designated person shall
notify the parent or guardian of the student in writing of
the tick removal. The notice shall be in substantially the
following form:
A tick was removed from your child today. Ticks
can transmit disease and make people sick. Common
illnesses caused by ticks in Illinois are Lyme disease
and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
Not all tick bites lead to tick-borne diseases.
You should record the date on which the tick was
removed.

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It is recommended that you seek medical treatment
from your child's health care provider promptly if you
notice any early signs or symptoms of illness within 3
to 30 days after the date of removal.
Some people with Lyme disease will get a bullseye
rash. Others may have an atypical rash. Not everyone
who has Lyme disease will get a rash. Other symptoms
that may occur during the early state of Lyme disease
include chills, fever, headache, tiredness, stiff
neck, joint pain or swelling, and swollen lymph nodes.
Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics. If
untreated, infection may progress to joint, heart,
brain, or nerve abnormalities.
Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a bacterial
disease spread through the bite of an infected tick.
Most people who get sick with RMSF will have a fever,
headache, and rash. RMSF can be deadly if not treated
early with the right antibiotic. Early signs and
symptoms are not specific to RMSF, including fever and
headache. However, the disease can rapidly progress to
a serious and life-threatening illness. See your
child's health care provider if your child becomes ill
after having been bitten by a tick or having been in
the woods or in areas with high brush where ticks
commonly live. Signs and symptoms may include fever,
headache, rash, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, muscle

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pain, and lack of appetite.
Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are
not the only tick-borne diseases with which an
individual can be infected after being bitten by a
tick.
(2) In addition to the notice, the school shall
provide the parent or guardian with an information sheet
from the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention or the Department of Public Health regarding
the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain
spotted fever and testing labs for ticks.
(3) The school shall preserve the tick for 72 hours so
that the parent or guardian may send the tick to a lab for
testing and shall provide information to the parent or
guardian on how to send the tick to a lab for testing.
However, the parent or guardian may give the school
permission to dispose of the tick before the 72-hour time
period has expired.
(c) The Department of Public Health shall issue guidelines
on how to remove a tick under subsection (a), publish those
guidelines on the Department of Public Health's Internet
website, and, in consultation with the State Board of
Education, provide the guidelines to school districts.
(d) A school district and its employees and agents shall
incur no liability, except for willful or wanton conduct, as a
result of any injury arising from the removal of a tick under

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subsection (a) if the removal of the tick was conducted
following the guidelines issued by the Department of Public
Health under subsection (c).