Health Requirements to Attend School

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Healthier students are better learners. We want to support your child’s health to make your child more successful inside and outside of school. To help manage your child’s health needs in school, we require you and your child’s health care provider to complete certain forms. Using these forms helps assure that your child gets the care and services they need during the school day.

New Admission Examination

Is your child starting school or child care for the first time? Before school starts, make sure your child receives a complete physical exam from a health care provider.

The physical exam should cover the following:

  • Medical History
  • Height
  • Weight
  • Body Mass Index
  • Vision Exam
  • Blood Pressure
  • Nutritional Evaluation
  • Dental Exam
  • Developmental Assessment
  • Hearing Exam
  • Immunizations

Your child must also be tested for lead presence and anemia if they are receiving child care for the first time (including pre-K classes).

Be sure that your doctor completes the New Admission Physical Exam Form (CH-205) and gives it to you to take home. Completed CH205 forms printed from the CIR Online Registry, which is the older version of this form, will continue to be accepted. While we accept the form during peak registration and on a rolling basis, ideally you would submit it to your school by July 14, 2023.

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Vision

While in school, your child will be screened to make sure that s(he) can see properly. It is important that we make sure all students with vision problems receive exams and the treatment they need to thrive in school.

Vision problems that go untreated can have long-term consequences to your child’s health. For example, three percent of children suffer from amblyopia, or “lazy eye”, a condition that can result in blindness in one eye if it is not found and treated before age seven.

Vision Screenings

Students are required to have vision screenings. We screen the following students:

  • Grades pre-k, kindergarten, 1, 3, and 5
  • New students
  • Students referred for Special Education evaluation and students currently in Special Education classes
  • Students referred by teachers
  • Students that were found to be at anything other than normal or high risk from a previous test

Eye Report and Recommendation Form

If your child fails the vision screening, they will receive the Eye Report and Recommendation Form (E-12S). This form must be completed by an eye doctor who will give your child an exam, diagnose, and treat your child’s eye problem. If you need help finding an eye doctor, please review our vision resource list:

 Please return your completed Eye Report and Recommendation form to your school nurse. You can also fax it to 347-396-8965 or mail it to:

Department of Health and Mental Hygiene School Health Vision
42-09 28th Street, Box 25
Long Island City, NY 11101

Vision Screening Policy

The New York City Department of Education (DOE) and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) agree on the following policies with respect to vision screening in DOE schools.

  1. DOHMH will perform vision screening of all NYC students in Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) programs with financial support for this effort by DOE. This will include programs operated by DOE and those operated by community based organizations. DOHMH will report to the school’s principal the name of any student in pre-Kindergarten who was not screened during the visit.
  2. DOHMH using its own funds will provide vision screening for DOE students in kindergarten and first grade during pre-arranged site visits and report to the school’s principal the name of any student in those grades who was not screened during the visit.
  3. For each screening abnormality identified by DOHMH, DOHMH will notify the parents of the student and indicate that the student should receive evaluation by an eye doctor.  It will provide a form for the parent to return to OSH so that the eye doctor’s evaluation can be recorded in the student’s medical record.
  4. DOHMH will transfer information on its vision screening results electronically to the DOE ATS system so that DOE has a permanent record of these vision screening results.
  5. DOE will use its own resources to perform vision screening of DOE pre-K, kindergarten and first grade public school students who were not screened by DOHMH. It will also screen DOE public school students in grades 3 and 5 and new entrants in grades 2, 4 and 6-12.
  6. DOE will record the results of its vision screens in ATS.
  7. For each screening abnormality identified by DOE, DOE will notify the parents of the student and indicate that the student should receive evaluation by an eye doctor. It will provide a form for the parent to return to OSH so that the eye doctor’s evaluation can be recorded in the student’s medical record.
  8. DOE will assign a central unit with the responsibility of monitoring compliance with vision screening requirements of Chancellor’s Regulation A-701.

Immunizations

It is required for students to have certain vaccines before starting school.

Common Questions

Where can I go to get my child a physical exam?

We suggest you take your child to a primary care provider to get the physical exam. If your child’s school has a school-based health center, your child can also receive a physical exam at school. Make sure to bring a copy of the new admission exam form (CH-205) with you to the visit.

As a last option, an Office of School Health doctor can also give your child a physical exam at your child’s school.

Will my child be excluded from school if their Health Exam Form is not complete?

No. Your child will not be excluded from school for not submitting a CH-205. However, every student should have a CH-205 on file so we can fully care for their health needs in school. If you are having trouble completing the CH-205, talk to your school nurse about scheduling a physical exam with a school doctor.

How will my school know my child has received a physical exam?

Give your child’s school a completed new admission exam form (CH-205). This will let the school know that your child has received the required physical exam.

My child already received a physical exam for child care. Do they need another physical exam to start school?

If your child was five years or older when they had the first physical exam, they do not need another one. However, because children grow very quickly at a young age, if your child had the physical exam at four years old or younger, they do need another physical exam to start school.

Do I have to do anything else before my child starts school?