Tulare County Office of Education - School Health Programs

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Mandated Screenings

Vision and Hearing Screening: (In Compliance with C.E.C. 49455)
"Requires that a child's vision shall be appraised upon first enrollment in a California school district at a California elementary school and at least every third year thereafter until the child has completed the 8th grade. All children who are suspected of having vision problems and/or whose school performance begins to give evidence that existence of the problem might be caused by a visual difficulty should be screened and referred as indicated. C.E.C. 49400 states that the governing board of any school district shall give diligent care to the health and physical development of pupils.

C.A.C Title 5, 3027, indicates that all pupils being assessed for initial and three-year review for special education services shall have had a hearing and vision screening unless parental permission is denied.

Hearing Mandates: C.A.C. Title 5, 2950-2951 indicates that hearing screening is annually mandated for each pupil in kindergarten or 1st grade, 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 10th or 11th grades.

C.A.C. Title 5, 3027 also mandates that all students being assessed for initial and three-year review for special education shall have hearing screening, unless parental permissions was denied.

Other students who should be screened are:

Those referred by the instructional staff, parents, physicians, etc.
Transferring students who moved from one geographic area to another.
Those students who have history of ear infections and/or hearing acuity loss.

Scoliosis Screening: (In Compliance with C.E.C. 49452.5)
"The governing board of any school district shall, subject to Section 49451 and in addition to the physical examinations required pursuant to Sections 208, 321, and 323.7 of the Health and Safety code, provide for the screening of every female pupil in grade 7 and every male pupil in grade 8 for the condition known as scoliosis. The screening shall be in accord with standards established by the State Department of Education. The screening shall be supervised only by qualified supervisors of health as specified in Sections 44871 to 44878, inclusive, and Section 49422, or by school nurses employed by the district or the county superintendent of schools, or pursuant to contract with any agency authorized to perform these services by the county superintendent of schools of the county in which the district is located pursuant to Section 1750 to 1754, inclusive, and Section 49402 of this code, Section 485 of the Health and Safety Code, and guidelines established by the State Board of Education. The screening shall be given only by individuals who supervise, or who are eligible to supervise, the screening, or licensed chiropractors, or by certified employees of the district or of the county superintendent of schools who have received in-service training, pursuant to rules and regulations adopted by the State Board of Education, to qualify them to perform these screenings. It is the intent of the Legislature that these screenings be performed at no additional cost to the state, the school districts, or the parent or guardian, during the regular school day and that any staff time devoted to these activities be redirected from other ongoing activities not related of the pupil's health care.

Oral Health Assessment: (In Compliance with C.E.C. 49452.8)
A new law requires that by May 31 each year, students in kindergarten (or first grade, if it is their first year in public school) submit proof of an oral health assessment performed by a licensed dentist or other licensed or registered dental health professional.
Annual Oral Health Requirement Form
More information.

Staff Nurse Meetings
Credentialed School Nurse Workshops
New School Nurse Orientation Program
Mandated Screenings
Immunization Requirements
Comprehensive Health Education Programs

Tulare County Office of Education
School Health Program
7000 Doe Avenue, Building 700
Visalia, CA 93291

Candy Hilvers, Program Manager
(559) 651-0130
fax: (559) 651-1995

Please direct web site problems or comments to tcoeweb@tcoe.org.