NCSL Legisbrief

Twenty-eight states have enacted scope of practice legislation since 2015. (1) Nearly 80 percent of nurse practitioners deliver primary care. (2) In rural and underserved areas, physician assistants may be the primary care providers at clinics where a physician is present only a few days a week.

Possessing the skills needed to successfully perform higher-paying jobs in the 21st century remains a significant barrier to employment for people with disabilities. (1) The labor participation rate for people with disabilities is 20 percent, compared to 68 percent for those without a disability. (2) The U.S. Army offers a summer apprenticeship program for high school students from groups historically under-represented in science, technology, engineering and math subjects, including students with disabilities...

(1)One in 9 Americans gets his or her drinking water from a private well. (2) An estimated 20 percent of private wells have contaminants above Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards.(3) Disease outbreaks from private wells are increasing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(1) According to the World Health Organization, immunization prevents between 2 million to 3 million deaths every year across the world. (2) When immunization rates are high, herd immunity develops and limits the spread of the disease, which helps protect those who cannot be vaccinated. (3) Vaccination rates for measles, mumps and rubella vary across the United States, ranging from 85.6 percent in Washington, D.C., to 99.4 percent in Mississippi.

(1) Illinois' state ESSA plan reflects the state’s whole-child approach, adding references to the social, emotional and behavioral needs of students, along with high expectations for student achievement. (2) Massachusetts' state ESSA plan lists supporting socialemotional learning, health and safety as among the state's core educational strategies. (3) South Carolina's ESSA plan develops a framework identifying self-direction, perseverance, global perspective and interpersonal skills to be among the characteristics that every student should have when he or she graduates from high school...

(1) Rural Americans are twice as likely to lose their adult teeth as their urban counterparts. (2) Seventy-two percent of the country is classified as rural, but is home to only 15 percent of the population (46.2 million people). (3) According to the Pew Center on the States, rural residents are more likely to use emergency departments for their oral health needs because of a lack of dental insurance and a shortage of dental providers.

(1)Different state agencies often regulate the hemp and cannabis industries separately. (2) Pharmaceutical products derived from cannabis are currently in clinical trials for approval in the U.S. and other countries. One product is already approved for use in 29 countries, but not in the U.S. (3) In August 2017, NCSL unanimously approved a policy position supporting federal legislation to define industrial hemp as a distinct agricultural crop (containing 1 percent or less of THC) and allow states to regulate commercial hemp farming...

(1)In 2017 alone, 46 states have enacted over 270 laws affecting policing. (2) At least six states have enacted laws to train the public on their rights and expectations during police interactions. (3) Police are increasingly partnering with health care professionals to more safely respond to mental health and substance use disorders.

(1) Utah, Delaware, Vermont, Minnesota and Idaho have the highest skin cancer rates of all U.S. states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2) Sunscreen is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration because it makes a "drug claim"--that it helps prevent sunburn and decreases the risks of skin cancer and early skin aging caused by the sun. (3) In Europe and some other countries, sunscreens are regulated as cosmetics, not as drugs.

(1) Sexual harassment is a violation of The Civil Rights Act of 1964. (2) Most states do not require employers to conduct sexual harassment training. (3) Most sexual harassment training for state legislators occurs at their orientation.

(1) Nineteen percent of low-income families enroll in high-quality early childhood education, while 29 percent of high income families do. (2) African-American, Hispanic/Latino and low-income children enter kindergarten, on average, significantly behind in reading and math skills. (3) Gaps in math and reading achievement generally persist in fourth grade and are even larger by eighth grade.

(1) Over 50 percent of primary care health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) were in rural areas in November 2016, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration. (2) Rural areas face a higher uninsured rate than metropolitan areas. (3) Rural hospitals tend to have low patient volume, a high portion of patients on Medicare and Medicaid, and a high number of uninsured patients.

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