The 2014-2015 school year will bring changes for some children attending Georgia schools. Health department officials in Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, and McIntosh counties want to make communities aware of those changes now, before the end of the current school year.

Vision, Hearing, Dental, and Nutrition Screening (form 3300)
It has been a requirement for parents to present a completed Vision, Hearing, and Dental screening form (form 3300) to school authorities for children entering a Georgia school for the first time. That is still a requirement; however, the form has been revised to include “nutrition” as a category. The nutrition category measures height, weight, and Body Mass Index (BMI).

The new Certificate of Vision, Hearing, Dental and Nutrition Screening Form can be found by going to www.gachd.org  and clicking on the Immunizations and Vaccinations link under the Quick Links menu on the home page.
* (Children currently enrolled in the school Pre-K program should not be required to complete an additional form 3300 for admittance into the Kindergarten program).

New Immunization Requirements for Children Attending Seventh Grade
Beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, seventh graders will be required to have the tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) and meningococcal (meningitis) vaccines prior to entering school. Effective July 1, 2014, children born on or after January 1, 2002 who are attending seventh grade and new entrants into Georgia schools in grades 8 through 12 must have received one dose of Tdap vaccine and one dose of meningococcal vaccine. (“New entrant” means any child entering any school in Georgia for the first time or entering after having been absent from a Georgia school for more than 12 months or one school year).

“These are positive changes,” said Diane Weems, M.D., Health Director for the Coastal Health District. “Measuring a child’s BMI at an early age will help identify possible nutritional issues and vaccinating middle-school students against preventable diseases will help keep them and our communities healthier.”

For more information on tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, meningitis or the associated vaccines, go to www.cdc.gov .