An Act To Make Parents More Aware of Eating Disorders

Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §6305  is enacted to read:

§ 6305.  Information regarding eating disorders

A school board shall annually provide parents of kindergarten to grade 12 students with educational information regarding eating disorders. The information must be consistent with guidelines set forth by department rule.

Sec. 2. Policies for educational information regarding eating disorders. The Department of Education, referred to in this section as "the department," seeking the assistance of the Department of Health and Human Services, school boards, school superintendents, the National Eating Disorders Association, the National Association of School Nurses and the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, shall develop and implement policies for providing parents with educational information regarding eating disorders. The department shall develop by rule guidelines for school boards regarding parental notification procedures for positive indications of an eating disorder. The department shall provide the guidelines to school boards in the State for dissemination pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 6305 by August 1, 2014. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

summary

This bill directs the Department of Education, seeking the assistance of the Department of Health and Human Services, school boards, school superintendents, the National Eating Disorders Association, the National Association of School Nurses and the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, to develop and implement policies for providing parents educational information regarding eating disorders. A school board must annually provide parents of kindergarten to grade 12 students with educational information regarding eating disorders.