Last week, U.S. Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, and Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia, introduced the bipartisan More Nurses in Rural Schools Act.
The bill is aimed at addressing the shortage of nurses in the American public school system, a news release from Gluesenkamp Perez stated. The bill would provide access to student loan repayment for eligible nurses working in schools in “healthcare deserts” by opening up the existing National Health Services Corps Loan Repayment Program (NHSLRP) to part-time and full-time registered nurses committed to serving schools in health professional shortage areas (HPSA).
While existing student loan repayment programs exist to bring qualified nurses to communities in need, these opportunities typically do not extend to school nurses, who often cannot meet full-time, year-round requirements and do not work in the 2% of public schools designated as School-Based Health Clinic (SBHC) facilities, the news release stated. As a result, registered nurses must choose between working in their communities and taking on the brunt of their student loans, or moving to more established clinics, the release stated. That leaves students without comprehensive services on-site in communities already combatting health care access challenges.
Specifically, the More Nurses in Rural Schools Act would eliminate barriers for school nurses by:
• Allowing the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to permit an individual who agrees to serve for a time period equal to two years or longer as a school nurse in an elementary or secondary school located within a health professional shortage area to participate in the NHSC LRP.
• For part-time employees, the secretary would be directed to increase the time period of service to the same number of hours as an individual serving in such a position on a full-year, full-time basis.
• Directing the secretary to establish annual certification requirements for the purpose of verifying the number of hours worked by such individuals. This follows the application process framework in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which allows states to track these hours as they see fit, the news release stated.
• Defining a “school nurse” as “a registered nurse who is employed by a school or local educational agency or State or State educational agency and is qualified under State law to provide assessment, diagnosis, counseling, educational, therapeutic and other health services to meet student needs.”
In implementation, the bill would help bring comprehensive healthcare services to elementary and secondary schools across the country in HPSAs — the majority of which are located in rural and partially rural areas.
“Sending your kid off to their first day of school, it’s like your heart came out of your body and it’s walking around in front of you. You want to know your school has every single option they can to take care of kids when they need it,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in the release. “Letting schools become healthcare deserts isn’t in anyone’s best interest. My bill extends existing loan forgiveness programs to nurses who make the noble choice to serve their community and take care of our children. Especially in rural communities, they’re a priceless lifeline.”
Gluesenkamp Perez noted in the news release that she voted against H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law on July 4, 2025. The law eliminated Medicaid eligibility for roughly 17 million Americans — including 31,000 in Southwest Washington, she said. The bill also did not extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits, which helped cover health care coverage costs for lower-income households. Gluesenkamp Perez co-led the Bipartisan Premium Tax Credit Extension Act to extend those tax credits for one year.
This legislation is supported by the National Association of School Nurses.
