Thanks go out to Dr. Charlie Coulter, Dr. Takeisha Presson, Dr. Jessica Rubin and Kurt Gallagher for testifying today before the DC Council Committee on Health on two bills under consideration by the DC Council: the School Health Certificate Modernization Amendment Act of 2026 (B26-0725) and the Vaccine Administration Protection Amendment Act of 2026 (B26-0606). 

Proposal of Concern:

B26-0725 - Would prevent dentists and other health care providers from charging a fee to prepare the annual Certificate of Dental Health for DC students ("Certificate"), more commonly known as the student health form.

• The legislation would also mandate the establishment of a digital platform to enable the submission of the Certificate to the Department of Health before the start of the 2028-2029 school year.
  • This new digital platform has the potential to reduce the administrative burden on dental practices to prepare the Certificate, however launch of the platform also makes dentists responsible for submitting the form.
• This prohibition on fees would take effect immediately, even before the digital platform is operational.

Positive Proposals:

• The School Health Certificate Modernization Amendment Act of 2026 (B26-0725) would establish consistent rules for tiered licensing/registration fees in DC for health professionals based on education level. This would be a first step to reducing registration fees for dental assistants and potentially for dentists and dental hygienists as well.

  • The letter introducing the legislation cites our testimony on this topic, which shows that our advocacy continues to have a positive impact.

  • In DC, the cost for a dental assistant to register at $190, plus the background check fee, is almost as much as the cost for a veterinarian at $215.

• The Vaccine Administration Protection Amendment Act of 2026 (B26-0606) would establish new protections against civil damages for health professionals who prescribe, dispense, order, furnish, or administer vaccines.

  • Note that currently dental hygienists are specifically authorized to administer vaccines, however dentists are not.

• B26-0725 - As noted above, this legislation would establish a digital platform for dentists to submit student health forms from the EHR rather than needing to print and sign them.