22.1-270 - Preschool physical examinations. - Virginia Statutes

§ 22.1-270. Preschool physical examinations.

A. No pupil shall be admitted for the first time to any public kindergartenor elementary school in a school division unless such pupil shall furnish,prior to admission, (i) a report from a qualified licensed physician, or alicensed nurse practitioner or licensed physician assistant acting under thesupervision of a licensed physician, of a comprehensive physical examinationof a scope prescribed by the State Health Commissioner performed within the12 months prior to the date such pupil first enters such public kindergartenor elementary school or (ii) records establishing that such pupil furnishedsuch report upon prior admission to another school or school division andproviding the information contained in such report.

If the pupil is a homeless child or youth as defined in § 22.1-3, and forthat reason cannot furnish the report or records required by (i) or (ii) ofthis subsection, and the person seeking to enroll the pupil furnishes to theschool division an affidavit so stating and also indicating that, to the bestof his knowledge, such pupil is in good health and free from any communicableor contagious disease, the school division shall immediately refer thestudent to the local school division liaison, as described in the federalMcKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001, asamended (42 U.S.C. § 11431 et seq.) (the Act), who shall, as soon aspracticable, assist in obtaining the necessary physical examination by thecounty or city health department or other clinic or physician's office andshall immediately admit the pupil to school, as required by such Act.

B. The physician, or licensed nurse practitioner or licensed physicianassistant acting under the supervision of a licensed physician, making areport of a physical examination required by this section shall, at the endof such report, summarize the abnormal physical findings, if any, and shallspecifically state what, if any, conditions are found that would identify thechild as handicapped.

C. Such physical examination report shall be placed in the child's healthrecord at the school and shall be made available for review by any employeeor official of the State Department of Health or any local health departmentat the request of such employee or official.

D. Such physical examination shall not be required of any child whose parentshall object on religious grounds and who shows no visual evidence ofsickness, provided that such parent shall state in writing that, to the bestof his knowledge, such child is in good health and free from any communicableor contagious disease.

E. The health departments of all of the counties and cities of theCommonwealth shall conduct such physical examinations for medically indigentchildren without charge upon request and may provide such examinations toothers on such uniform basis as such departments may establish.

F. Parents of entering students shall complete a health information formwhich shall be distributed by the local school divisions. Such forms shall bedeveloped and provided jointly by the Department of Education and Departmentof Health, or developed and provided by the school division and approved bythe Superintendent of Public Instruction. Such forms shall be returnablewithin 15 days of receipt unless reasonable extensions have been granted bythe superintendent or his designee. Upon failure of the parent to completesuch form within the extended time, the superintendent may send to the parentwritten notice of the date he intends to exclude the child from school;however, no child who is a homeless child or youth as defined in subdivision6 of § 22.1-3 shall be excluded from school for such failure to complete suchform.

(Code 1950, § 22-220.1; 1972, c. 761; 1973, c. 300; 1974, c. 160; 1979, cc.120, 260; 1980, c. 559; 1982, c. 510; 1983, c. 195; 1985, c. 334; 2000, cc.209, 617, 646; 2001, c. 261; 2004, cc. 500, 967.)