The Massachusetts Department of Public Health states that school-based screening for health problems is designed to detect previously unrecognized conditions as early as possible in order to provide early intervention and limit a potential negative impact on school performance.
Massachusetts General Law( c.71, s.57) requires that school-aged children have the following screenings each year:
Hearing- Grades -PreK, K, 1
Vision -Grades PreK, K, 1
Height/Weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) Grade 1 only
Postural/Scoliosis -Not done at Memorial (Grades 5-9 only)
** If you do not want your child to participate in the state mandated screening, please send a note to opt out to the nurse.
These screening tests are NOT diagnostic. They only identify students who may need further attention by a primary caregiver or specialist. For Kindergarten students only: If your child was screened for vision in the past year and it is documented on their physical exam form with a passing result, then vision may not be screened in school that year.
Screenings at Memorial are generally performed by class in October and November each year. A notice will be sent home to report the results of your child's screening after it has been performed. If the child has difficulty with the initial hearing and vision screening, they will be retested within 2 weeks. Referrals for hearing and vision will then be made if the child continues to have difficulty. If you receive a letter requesting follow up, please make every effort to follow through with the referral and return the results to the nurse as soon as possible.
For 1st Grade students only: Height and Weight are recorded into the student electronic medical record. BMI is then generated from the height and weight values. Notices are not sent to parents or teachers on results of the Height/Weight/BMI screening. If you would like the results of this screening, you may contact the school nurse directly. If you do not want your child to participate in the Height/Weight/BMI screening, please notify the nurse in writing before the initial 1st grade screening date. See below for class screening dates.
Screening Schedule.xls - 25-26.pdf