Changes to school health screenings for 2014-15 year

Changes are coming to the health screenings Nebraska children have before starting school.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services says starting Tuesday, health screenings will include a child’s height, weight, and body mass index. That’s in addition to vision, dental, and hearing screenings.

Judy Martin, Deputy Director for Community and Environmental Health for DHHS, says it's a more robust and comprehensive set of screenings for students.

Also, not all students will have to have a health screening before school starts. The changes mandate the screenings for pre-kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth, seventh, and 10th grade students.

More information is available at www.dhhs.ne.gov/schoolhealth.