The Washington legislature wants schools to help spread the word about student-related health information.
The Senate has voted to require school websites to provide easy-to-find links on their homepages to Washington Department of Health webpages. Mercer Island Democrat Lisa Wellman says the bill applies to school and educational service districts, as well as charter and tribal schools.
“Unfortunately, Mr. President, in our state the number or deaths of children due to firearms, drugs and poisonings has increased. These are dangers that we need to raise to a level of awareness with our parents in our communities," she said.
The bill also directs the Department of Health to post up-to-date information about injury prevention and how to securely store firearms, as well as prescription and over-the-counter drugs. It also requires health officials to provide information about overdose symptoms and updated trends about substance use.
Wenatchee Republican Kirk Hawkins says the intent is honorable “but I’m not quite sure the role of the Department of Health in this regard and the requirements for the posting on the school districts’ websites. We do have some questions about that," he said.
The legislation cleared both the Senate and the House on mostly party-line votes. It now goes to the governor.
