Public Act 93-0504
SB805 Enrolled LRB093 04801 NHT 11184 b
AN ACT regarding school students.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
Section 27-8.1 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/27-8.1) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-8.1)
Sec. 27-8.1. Health examinations and immunizations.
(1) In compliance with rules and regulations which the
Department of Public Health shall promulgate, and except as
hereinafter provided, all children in Illinois shall have a
health examination as follows: within one year prior to
entering kindergarten or the first grade of any public,
private, or parochial elementary school; upon entering the
fifth and ninth grades of any public, private, or parochial
school; prior to entrance into any public, private, or
parochial nursery school; and, irrespective of grade,
immediately prior to or upon entrance into any public,
private, or parochial school or nursery school, each child
shall present proof of having been examined in accordance
with this Section and the rules and regulations promulgated
hereunder.
A tuberculosis skin test screening shall be included as a
required part of each health examination included under this
Section if the child resides in an area designated by the
Department of Public Health as having a high incidence of
tuberculosis. Additional health examinations of pupils,
including dental and vision examinations, may be required
when deemed necessary by school authorities. Parents are
encouraged to have their children undergo dental and vision
examinations at the same points in time required for health
examinations.
(2) The Department of Public Health shall promulgate
rules and regulations specifying the examinations and
procedures that constitute a health examination and may
recommend by rule that certain additional examinations be
performed. The rules and regulations of the Department of
Public Health shall specify that a tuberculosis skin test
screening shall be included as a required part of each health
examination included under this Section if the child resides
in an area designated by the Department of Public Health as
having a high incidence of tuberculosis.
Physicians licensed to practice medicine in all of its
branches, advanced practice nurses who have a written
collaborative agreement with a collaborating physician which
authorizes them to perform health examinations, or physician
assistants who have been delegated the performance of health
examinations by their supervising physician shall be
responsible for the performance of the health examinations,
other than dental examinations and vision and hearing
screening, and shall sign all report forms required by
subsection (4) of this Section that pertain to those portions
of the health examination for which the physician, advanced
practice nurse, or physician assistant is responsible. If a
registered nurse performs any part of a health examination,
then a physician licensed to practice medicine in all of its
branches must review and sign all required report forms.
Licensed dentists shall perform all dental examinations and
shall sign all report forms required by subsection (4) of
this Section that pertain to the dental examinations.
Physicians licensed to practice medicine in all its branches,
or licensed optometrists, shall perform all vision exams
required by school authorities and shall sign all report
forms required by subsection (4) of this Section that pertain
to the vision exam. Vision and hearing screening tests,
which shall not be considered examinations as that term is
used in this Section, shall be conducted in accordance with
rules and regulations of the Department of Public Health, and
by individuals whom the Department of Public Health has
certified. In these rules and regulations, the Department of
Public Health shall require that individuals conducting
vision screening tests give a child's parent or guardian
written notification, before the vision screening is
conducted, that states, "Vision screening is not a substitute
for a complete eye and vision evaluation by an eye doctor.
Your child is not required to undergo this vision screening
if an optometrist or ophthalmologist has completed and signed
a report form indicating that an examination has been
administered within the previous 12 months."
(3) Every child shall, at or about the same time as he
or she receives a health examination required by subsection
(1) of this Section, present to the local school proof of
having received such immunizations against preventable
communicable diseases as the Department of Public Health
shall require by rules and regulations promulgated pursuant
to this Section and the Communicable Disease Prevention Act.
(4) The individuals conducting the health examination
shall record the fact of having conducted the examination,
and such additional information as required, on uniform forms
which the Department of Public Health and the State Board of
Education shall prescribe for statewide use. The examiner
shall summarize on the report form any condition that he or
she suspects indicates a need for special services. The
individuals confirming the administration of required
immunizations shall record as indicated on the form that the
immunizations were administered.
(5) If a child does not submit proof of having had
either the health examination or the immunization as
required, then the child shall be examined or receive the
immunization, as the case may be, and present proof by
October 15 of the current school year, or by an earlier date
of the current school year established by a school district.
To establish a date before October 15 of the current school
year for the health examination or immunization as required,
a school district must give notice of the requirements of
this Section 60 days prior to the earlier established date.
If for medical reasons one or more of the required
immunizations must be given after October 15 of the current
school year, or after an earlier established date of the
current school year, then the child shall present, by October
15, or by the earlier established date, a schedule for the
administration of the immunizations and a statement of the
medical reasons causing the delay, both the schedule and the
statement being issued by the physician, advanced practice
nurse, physician assistant, registered nurse, or local health
department that will be responsible for administration of the
remaining required immunizations. If a child does not comply
by October 15, or by the earlier established date of the
current school year, with the requirements of this
subsection, then the local school authority shall exclude
that child from school until such time as the child presents
proof of having had the health examination as required and
presents proof of having received those required
immunizations which are medically possible to receive
immediately. During a child's exclusion from school for
noncompliance with this subsection, the child's parents or
legal guardian shall be considered in violation of Section
26-1 and subject to any penalty imposed by Section 26-10.
(6) Every school shall report to the State Board of
Education by November 15, in the manner which that agency
shall require, the number of children who have received the
necessary immunizations and the health examination as
required, indicating, of those who have not received the
immunizations and examination as required, the number of
children who are exempt from health examination and
immunization requirements on religious or medical grounds as
provided in subsection (8). This reported information shall
be provided to the Department of Public Health by the State
Board of Education.
(7) Upon determining that the number of pupils who are
required to be in compliance with subsection (5) of this
Section is below 90% of the number of pupils enrolled in the
school district, 10% of each State aid payment made pursuant
to Section 18-8 to the school district for such year shall be
withheld by the regional superintendent until the number of
students in compliance with subsection (5) is the applicable
specified percentage or higher.
(8) Parents or legal guardians who object to health
examinations or any part thereof, or to immunizations, on
religious grounds shall not be required to submit their
children or wards to the examinations or immunizations to
which they so object if such parents or legal guardians
present to the appropriate local school authority a signed
statement of objection, detailing the grounds for the
objection. If the physical condition of the child is such
that any one or more of the immunizing agents should not be
administered, the examining physician, advanced practice
nurse, or physician assistant responsible for the performance
of the health examination shall endorse that fact upon the
health examination form. Exempting a child from the health
examination does not exempt the child from participation in
the program of physical education training provided in
Sections 27-5 through 27-7 of this Code.
(9) For the purposes of this Section, "nursery schools"
means those nursery schools operated by elementary school
systems or secondary level school units or institutions of
higher learning.
(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99; 92-703, eff. 7-19-02.)