Bill Text: NJ A5045 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes standards for annual height, weight, and blood pressure screening of public school students.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A5045 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A5045-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman MICHELE MATSIKOUDIS
District 21 (Morris, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes standards for annual height, weight, and blood pressure screening of public school students.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certain student health screenings and supplementing chapter 40 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The annual screening for height, weight, and blood pressure required for public school students in grades kindergarten through 12 pursuant to State Board of Education regulations, shall, in addition to any other criteria established by the State board, meet the following criteria:
(1) the annual screening shall be conducted by the school physician or a school nurse;
(2) the screening shall provide an equal level of assessment to all students;
(3) the screening shall be conducted one class at a time;
(4) each student in the class being screened shall be physically separated from all other students in the class to protect the privacy of the student; and
(5) the evaluation of a student's weight or weight classification shall not be based solely on the calculation of the student's body mass index, but also shall consider other health markers, such as the student's access to healthy food, safe space to exercise, and other barriers to a healthy lifestyle.
b. Prior to conducting the annual screening, the school physician or school nurse shall meet with the class to be screened to discuss, in an age-appropriate manner, the purpose and benefit of the screening, the manner in which it will be conducted, and an explanation that the screening is only one method to evaluate healthy growth and development. The purpose of the meeting shall be to alleviate student anxiety on the screening and the outcome of the screening.
c. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the provisions of this act. The regulations shall establish additional health markers on which a student's weight shall be evaluated, such as age, gender, race, and genetic history.
2. This act shall take effect on July 1 of the first full school year next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
State Board of Education regulations at N.J.A.C.6A:16-2.2(l)1 require that each school district ensure that students in grades kindergarten through 12 are annually screened for height, weight, and blood pressure. This bill establishes standards to be followed by school districts when conducting those screenings.
Under the bill, in addition to meeting any other requirements established by the State Board of Education, the height, weight, and blood pressure screening is to:
1) be conducted by the school physician or a school nurse;
2) provide an equal level of assessment to all students;
3) be conducted one class at a time;
4) ensure that each student in the class being screened is physically separated from all other students in the class through the use of a physical barrier to protect the privacy of the student; and
5) ensure that the evaluation of a student's weight or weight classification is not based solely on the calculation of the student's body mass index but also considers other health markers, such as the student's access to healthy food, safe space to exercise, and other barriers to a healthy lifestyle.
The bill requires that the regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education to implement the bill's provisions include additional health markers on which a student's weight may be evaluated, such as age, gender, race, and genetic history.
The bill also requires that prior to conducting the screening, the school physician or school nurse meet with the class to be screened to discuss, in an age-appropriate manner, the purpose and benefit of the screening, the manner in which the screening will be conducted, and an explanation that the screening is only one method to evaluate healthy growth and development. The purpose of the meeting will be to alleviate student anxiety on the screening and the outcome of the screening.
