25 Tex. Admin. Code § 37.144 - School Requirements; Department Activities

(a) The chief administrator of each school is responsible for notifying a parent, managing conservator, or guardian of the requirement to conduct spinal screening, the purpose of and the reasons for spinal screening and potential risk to the child if declined, the method used to perform the screening based on § 37.143 of this title (related to Spinal Screening Procedures), and the method to decline spinal screening based on subsection (e) of this section. For purposes of this section, the notification may be in electronic format.

(b) The chief administrator of each school is responsible for the school maintaining a copy of the screening results and the mailing of a copy of the report to the parent, managing conservator, or guardian of the individual screened if an abnormal spinal curvature is suspected, based on § 37.143(a) of this title (relating to Spinal Screening Procedures).

(c) The chief administrator of each school shall ensure that each individual admitted to the school complies with the screening requirements of this subchapter, according to the following schedule:

(1) All children enrolled in a public or private school, who meet the criteria outlined in department policy, shall be screened for abnormal spinal curvature before the end of the school year. The screening requirements may also be met by a professional examination as defined in § 37.142 of this title (relating to Definitions).

(2) If a child is enrolled within 60 days of the date a school closes for the summer, the child's spinal screening must be conducted within 120 days of the beginning of the following school year.

(3) Schools may offer a student the opportunity for spinal screening if the student has no record of having been screened previously.

(d) A child's parent, managing conservator, or legal guardian, or the individual under the scenarios described in Texas Family Code, § 32.003, may execute an affidavit stating that a person, other than the individual secured by the school to conduct screenings at the school, shall conduct the screening as soon as is feasible. The school may admit the child on a provisional basis for up to 60 days, or may deny admission until the screening record(s) are provided to the school. The 60-day time period is from November 30 to January 30 of each school year.

(e) A school shall not require a child to be screened if the child's parent, managing conservator, or legal guardian, or the individual under the scenarios described in Texas Family Code, § 32.003, submits to the school, on or before the date spinal screening is scheduled, an affidavit in lieu of the screening record(s) stating that the spinal screening conflicts with the tenets and practices of a church or religious denomination of which the affiant is an adherent or member.

(f) Only individuals who have completed high school may serve as volunteer assistants during spinal screenings. It is the responsibility of the certified screener to determine how any volunteer assistant(s) will be used during the screening process, consistent with all state and federal confidentiality requirements.

Notes

25 Tex. Admin. Code § 37.144

The provisions of this §37.144 adopted to be effective March 21, 1986, 11 TexReg 1145; amended to be effective August 1, 2002, 27 TexReg 3157; amended to be effective September 17, 2008, 33 TexReg 7747; amended by Texas Register, Volume 40, Number 02, January 9, 2015, TexReg 245, eff. 1/12/2015; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 42, Number 49, December 8, 2017, TexReg 6928, eff. 1/1/2018