September 2022 - Health Screening Information

Massachusetts General Law, chapter 71, section 57 with related regulations 105 CMR 200.000 mandates that school nurses do periodic screenings of vision, hearing, growth (height and weight), and posture. Bill H.4056, section 97 requires schools to conduct annual verbal screenings (SBIRT) for substance use. Pursuant to these regulations, MPS nurses screen students according to the following schedule:

Parents/guardians will be notified if a vision, hearing, or postural screening requires further evaluation. Included in this notification will be a request for a report from your healthcare provider of their findings so that the nurses are aware of any problems which may interfere with learning and can accommodate any needs that are identified.

Parents may choose not to have their children participate in any or all screenings. Please notify your school nurse in writing by October 1, 2022 if you wish for your student to opt-out of a screening. This must be done annually.  

If your student is receiving treatment for a vision, hearing, or postural concern, please provide your school nurse with current medical documentation of their condition. Nurse contact information can be found here: MHS: Shannon Aikey; Pierce: Barbara Perry ; Collicot: Lindsay Peterson ; Cunningham: Kiyana Spaulding ; Glover: Maureen LeBlanc; Tucker: Kerri Joyce

Kimberly Coughlin, Director of Nursing  

Health Services Department
Milton High School
25 Gile Road
Milton, MA 02186
(p)617-696-5040  x5537
(f)617-696-5038

 

Massachusetts State Mandates

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Physical Exams

Physical examinations by the student’s own physician are required upon entering Preschool, Kindergarten, and grades 4, 7 and 11. 

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Screenings

All screenings are performed in accordance with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts regulations. Students may also be screened at any time during the year at a teacher or parent’s request. If screening results indicate the need for follow-up care by a physician, parents/guardians will be notified in writing.

  • Hearing- Grades K-5, 7 and 10
  • Vision-Grades 1-5, 7 and 10 
  • SBIRT- Grades 8 and 10
  • Height, Weight & BMI- Grades 1, 4, 7, 10
  • Postural (scoliosis)- Grades 5-9
     
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Immunizations

All students must present evidence of immunizations in compliance with the requirements of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 76, Section 15, which specifically prohibits admitting a student to school without a physician verifying that religious or medical exemptions apply. Medical and Religious exemptions must be submitted to the Health Office annually.

Children need to be immunized against Diphtheria/Pertussis/Tetanus, Measles/Mumps/ Rubella, Polio, Hepatitis B, Varicella and Haemophilus Influenzae type B (HIB-Preschool requirement only).  Children who are not fully immunized against these preventable illnesses are not allowed to attend school.

Please see the MPS Immunization Policy here. 


For more information, contact your health care provider or the MDPH Immunization Program (617-983-6800 or 888-658-2850, www.mass.gov/dph/imm)

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Links to Important Documents

Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Plan 

MA Asthma Action Plan

MPS Over the Counter Medication Form

MPS Prescription Medication Form

Helpful Links

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

Department of Public Health

American Academy of Pediatrics

Learn More About Health & Academics

Healthy Children/ Parent Resource

Massachusetts offers free or low cost health and dental insurance to all children and teens through age 18. Call your school nurse or Health Care for All at 1-800-272-4232 for more information or visit  H​ealthcare for All

MPS School Nurses 

Click the name to email your school nurse. 

MHS: Shannon Aikey

Pierce: Barbara Perry 

Collicot: Lindsay Peterson 

Cunningham: Kiyana Spaulding 

Glover: Maureen LeBlanc

Tucker: Kerri Joyce

 

MPS Nut and Food Allergy Guidance 

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MPS Food Allergy Guidance

  • During the pandemic, MPS requested that any food- lunch or snacks- brought in by students be nut-free as we adhered to social distancing rules and ate in different spaces throughout our buildings.  MPS has returned to utilizing our cafeteria and designated spaces for lunch and the food allergy policy has been restated on our website for all staff and families.

  • Milton Public Schools is not “allergen free” or “nut free.” As a public school with over 4,000 students, MPS cannot be allergen free - but staff, students and families can work together to create a respectful space for children and families with food allergies.  All snacks brought into the classroom by students should be nut free and all food supplied by Milton Public schools cafeteria is nut free.  Gluten, Dairy, Egg and other allergies can be accommodated when accompanied with a MD note from the student's pediatrician.  In addition to nut free classroom snacks, your student's teacher may reach out with additional snack restrictions based on individual classroom makeup.

  • Per district guidelines, staff should not supply students with supplemental snacks/ food.

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Covid-19 Information September 2022

Please see this link from MA DESE for details on COVID testing in schools. MPS will not be providing in school testing or supplying at home kits as these programs are no longer offered at no cost from the state.

Please see this link for quarantine and isolation guidelines. In regards to schools, MA DPH states "These settings are not required to conduct contact tracing as a standard practice, but must continue to work with their Local Board of Health in the case of outbreaks“.

The joint early childhood & K-12 guidance for students and staff has also been updated to reflect the updated CDC guidance on exposure and isolation in these settings. K-12 guidance differs from the guidance for general public. Please see this link for back to school isolation and quarantine rules.

With many tools now available for reducing COVID-19 severity, such as availability of vaccine, boosters, and treatment, there is significantly less risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death compared to earlier in the pandemic.  CDC has updated its guidance for people who know they have been exposed to COVID-19.

This guidance is further acknowledgment that, while COVID-19 is still with us, for a majority of people, COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts their daily lives.

School Health Offices

In order to insure adherence to Massachusetts immunization requirements, monitoring of infections and other diseases are important functions of the school nurse.  The nurse works with parents, administrators, school staff, primary care providers, local and regional Boards of Health, school physicians and others to maintain a healthy school environment.  Upon recommendation to administration, students may be excluded from school if immunizations are not up to date or if a student has a communicable disease such as chicken pox, pertussis, scabies or conjunctivitis.