Support Faculty and Expand Access to Nursing School Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3263 To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to increase and support nurse faculty and clinical preceptors, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 11, 2023 Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, and Ms. BARRAGA´N) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to increase and support nurse faculty and clinical precep- tors, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Support Faculty and 4 Expand Access to Nursing School Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:26 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3263.IH H3263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3263 IH SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM TO INCREASE AND SUPPORT 1 NURSE FACULTY AND CLINICAL PRECEP- 2 TORS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VIII of the Public Health 4 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296 et seq.) is amended by insert- 5 ing after part F (42 U.S.C. 297t) the following new part: 6 ‘‘PART G—NURSE FACULTY AND CLINICAL 7 PRECEPTORS 8 ‘‘SEC. 861. INCREASING AND SUPPORTING NURSE FACULTY 9 AND CLINICAL PRECEPTORS. 10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 11 grants to schools of nursing to support the recruitment 12 and retention of nurse faculty and clinical preceptors who 13 supervise nursing students to help educate the future 14 nursing workforce. 15 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligible to receive 16 a grant under this section, a school of nursing shall submit 17 an application to the Secretary that includes— 18 ‘‘(1) documentation that such school is experi- 19 encing a shortage of faculty or clinical preceptors; 20 and 21 ‘‘(2) a description of how such school will utilize 22 funds received through the grant to recruit and re- 23 tain faculty or clinical preceptors, as applicable. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:26 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3263.IH H3263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3263 IH ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec- 1 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to any school of 2 nursing that— 3 ‘‘(1) demonstrates that the school’s shortage of 4 teaching faculty or clinical preceptors is a reason 5 that the school has not accepted all qualified appli- 6 cants into the respective school’s programs; 7 ‘‘(2) demonstrates that the school is located in 8 a State or city whose schools of nursing experience 9 above-average shortages of teaching faculty or clin- 10 ical preceptors; 11 ‘‘(3) prioritizes the recruitment and retention of 12 nurse faculty from disadvantaged backgrounds (in- 13 cluding racial or ethnic groups underrepresented in 14 the nursing workforce), low-income individuals, and 15 first-generation college students; 16 ‘‘(4) prioritizes the recruitment and retention of 17 full-time nurse faculty and clinical preceptors; or 18 ‘‘(5) demonstrates in its application an intent 19 to sustain gains realized through the grant. 20 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—A school of nursing that re- 21 ceives a grant under this section may use the funds award- 22 ed through such grant for activities that include— 23 ‘‘(1) hiring additional nurse faculty or clinical 24 preceptors; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:26 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3263.IH H3263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3263 IH ‘‘(2) increasing pay or benefits to retain or re- 1 cruit nurse faculty or clinical preceptors; 2 ‘‘(3) partnering with a health care facility, 3 nurse-managed health clinic, community health cen- 4 ter, or other facility that provides health care in 5 order to provide educational opportunities for the 6 purpose of increasing the number of clinical precep- 7 tors and clinical rotation sites; 8 ‘‘(4) developing and disseminating information 9 to educate nursing students about opportunities to 10 serve as clinical preceptors or nursing school faculty 11 throughout their careers; 12 ‘‘(5) offering education opportunities to pro- 13 mote the growth and development of nursing stu- 14 dents and registered nurses into roles as clinical pre- 15 ceptors and teaching faculty; 16 ‘‘(6) supporting the recruitment and retention 17 of diverse faculty members; and 18 ‘‘(7) coordinating programs with another health 19 care facility. 20 ‘‘(e) REPORTS TO SECRETARY.—Each school of nurs- 21 ing awarded a grant under this section shall submit an 22 annual report (in such form and manner as the Secretary 23 may require) to the Secretary containing— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:26 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3263.IH H3263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3263 IH ‘‘(1) information on programs and activities 1 funded through such grant; 2 ‘‘(2) information related to the outcomes of 3 such programs and activities, including— 4 ‘‘(A) the total number of nurse faculty or 5 clinical preceptors who were hired or retained 6 through such grant; 7 ‘‘(B) the total number of students enrolled 8 in such school of nursing before and after the 9 implementation of programs and activities fund- 10 ed through such grant; and 11 ‘‘(C) to the extent such information is 12 available, deidentified and disaggregated data 13 by race, ethnicity, age, sex, geographic region, 14 disability status, and other relevant factors re- 15 garding nursing students enrolled in such 16 school of nursing; and 17 ‘‘(3) other information as the Secretary may re- 18 quire.’’. 19 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 20 871 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 298d) 21 is amended by adding at the end the following: 22 ‘‘(c) PART G.—For the purpose of carrying out part 23 G, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:26 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3263.IH H3263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3263 IH may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2024 through 1 2025.’’. 2 (c) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Effective as if in- 3 cluded in the enactment of the CARES Act (Public Law 4 116–136), paragraph (12) of section 3404(a) of such Act 5 is amended to read as follows: 6 ‘‘(12) by striking part G (42 U.S.C. 297w and 7 297x); and’’. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:26 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3263.IH H3263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS