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90_HB0788eng
105 ILCS 5/27-8.1 from Ch. 122, par. 27-8.1
Amends the School Code. Eliminates provisions that
require a Tuberculosis skin test screening to be included as
a required part of school health examinations if a child
resides in an area designated by the Department of Public
Health as having a high incidence of Tuberculosis.
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1 AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Section
2 27-8.1.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
6 Section 27-8.1 as follows:
7 (105 ILCS 5/27-8.1) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-8.1)
8 Sec. 27-8.1. Health examinations and immunizations.
9 (1) In compliance with rules and regulations which the
10 Department of Public Health shall promulgate, and except as
11 hereinafter provided, all children in Illinois shall have a
12 health examination as follows: within one year prior to
13 entering kindergarten or the first grade of any public,
14 private, or parochial elementary school; upon entering the
15 fifth and ninth grades of any public, private, or parochial
16 school; prior to entrance into any public, private, or
17 parochial nursery school; and, irrespective of grade,
18 immediately prior to or upon entrance into any public,
19 private, or parochial school or nursery school, each child
20 shall present proof of having been examined in accordance
21 with this Section and the rules and regulations promulgated
22 hereunder.
23 A physician licensed to practice medicine in all its
24 branches may include a tuberculosis skin test screening as
25 part of a health examination required under this Section
26 when, in the professional judgment of the physician, the
27 child is potentially at risk for tuberculosis.
28 A tuberculosis skin test screening shall be
29 included as a required part of each health examination
30 included under this Section if the child resides in an area
31 designated by the Department of Public Health as having a
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1 high incidence of tuberculosis. Additional health
2 examinations of pupils, including dental and vision
3 examinations, may be required when deemed necessary by school
4 authorities. Parents are encouraged to have their children
5 undergo dental examinations at the same points in time
6 required for health examinations.
7 (2) The Department of Public Health shall promulgate
8 rules and regulations specifying the examinations and
9 procedures that constitute a health examination and may
10 recommend by rule that certain additional examinations be
11 performed. The rules and regulations of the Department of
12 Public Health shall specify that a tuberculosis skin test
13 screening shall be included as a required part of each health
14 examination included under this Section if the child resides
15 in an area designated by the Department of Public Health as
16 having a high incidence of tuberculosis.
17 Physicians licensed to practice medicine in all of its
18 branches shall be responsible for the performance of the
19 health examinations, other than dental examinations and
20 vision and hearing screening, and shall sign all report forms
21 required by subsection (4) of this Section that pertain to
22 those portions of the health examination for which the
23 physician is responsible. If a registered nurse performs any
24 part of a health examination, then a physician licensed to
25 practice medicine in all of its branches must review and sign
26 all required report forms. Licensed dentists shall perform
27 all dental examinations and shall sign all report forms
28 required by subsection (4) of this Section that pertain to
29 the dental examinations. Physicians licensed to practice
30 medicine in all its branches, or licensed optometrists, shall
31 perform all vision exams required by school authorities and
32 shall sign all report forms required by subsection (4) of
33 this Section that pertain to the vision exam. Vision and
34 hearing screening tests, which shall not be considered
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1 examinations as that term is used in this Section, shall be
2 conducted in accordance with rules and regulations of the
3 Department of Public Health, and by individuals whom the
4 Department of Public Health has certified.
5 (3) Every child shall, at or about the same time as he
6 or she receives a health examination required by subsection
7 (1) of this Section, present to the local school, proof of
8 having received such immunizations against preventable
9 communicable diseases as the Department of Public Health
10 shall require by rules and regulations promulgated pursuant
11 to this Section and the Communicable Disease Prevention Act.
12 (4) The individuals conducting the health examination
13 shall record the fact of having conducted the examination,
14 and such additional information as required, on uniform forms
15 which the Department of Public Health and the State Board of
16 Education shall prescribe for statewide use. The examiner
17 shall summarize on the report form any condition that he or
18 she suspects indicates a need for special services. The
19 individuals confirming the administration of required
20 immunizations shall record as indicated on the form that the
21 immunizations were administered.
22 (5) If a child does not submit proof of having had
23 either the health examination or the immunization as
24 required, then the child shall be examined or receive the
25 immunization, as the case may be, and present proof by
26 October 15 of the current school year, or by an earlier date
27 of the current school year established by a school district.
28 To establish a date before October 15 of the current school
29 year for the health examination or immunization as required,
30 a school district must give notice of the requirements of
31 this Section 60 days prior to the earlier established date.
32 If for medical reasons one or more of the required
33 immunizations must be given after October 15 of the current
34 school year, or after an earlier established date of the
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1 current school year, then the child shall present, by October
2 15, or by the earlier established date, a schedule for the
3 administration of the immunizations and a statement of the
4 medical reasons causing the delay, both the schedule and the
5 statement being issued by the physician, registered nurse, or
6 local health department that will be responsible for
7 administration of the remaining required immunizations. If a
8 child does not comply by October 15, or by the earlier
9 established date of the current school year, with the
10 requirements of this subsection, then the local school
11 authority shall exclude that child from school until such
12 time as the child presents proof of having had the health
13 examination as required and presents proof of having received
14 those required immunizations which are medically possible to
15 receive immediately. During a child's exclusion from school
16 for noncompliance with this subsection, the child's parents
17 or legal guardian shall be considered in violation of Section
18 26-1 and subject to any penalty imposed by Section 26-10.
19 (6) Every school shall report to the State Board of
20 Education by November 15, in the manner which that agency
21 shall require, the number of children who have received the
22 necessary immunizations and the health examination as
23 required, indicating, of those who have not received the
24 immunizations and examination as required, the number of
25 children who are exempt from health examination and
26 immunization requirements on religious or medical grounds as
27 provided in subsection (8). This reported information shall
28 be provided to the Department of Public Health by the State
29 Board of Education.
30 (7) Upon determining that the number of pupils who are
31 required to be in compliance with subsection (5) of this
32 Section is below 90% of the number of pupils enrolled in the
33 school district, 10% of each State aid payment made pursuant
34 to Section 18-8 to the school district for such year shall be
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1 withheld by the regional superintendent until the number of
2 students in compliance with subsection (5) is the applicable
3 specified percentage or higher.
4 (8) Children whose parents or legal guardians object to
5 health examinations or any part thereof, or to immunizations,
6 on religious grounds shall not be required to submit their
7 children or wards to the examinations or immunizations to
8 which they so object if such parents or legal guardians
9 present to the appropriate local school authority a signed
10 statement of objection, detailing the grounds for the
11 objection. If the physical condition of the child is such
12 that any one or more of the immunizing agents should not be
13 administered, the examining physician responsible for the
14 performance of the health examination shall endorse that fact
15 upon the health examination form. Exempting a child from the
16 health examination does not exempt the child from
17 participation in the program of physical education training
18 provided in Sections 27-5 through 27-7 of this Code.
19 (9) For the purposes of this Section, "nursery schools"
20 means those nursery schools operated by elementary school
21 systems or secondary level school units or institutions of
22 higher learning.
23 (Source: P.A. 88-149; 89-618, eff. 8-9-96; 89-626, eff.
24 8-9-96.)
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