Data
Entry for Body Mass Index (BMI) Assessment for Schools
As of the 2019-2020 school year, the Body Mass Index (BMI) data entry
for public schools will transition from the Arkansas Center for Health
Improvement (ACHI) data entry portal to eSchool Plus. A.C.A §20-7-135 requires schools to include a body mass index percentile by age, for each
student beginning in Kindergarten and then in even-numbered grades, in a student health report to parents. Students in grades eleven and twelve are exempt from
any policy or requirement of a public school or the state for measuring or
reporting the body mass index.
BMI Data Entry
Beginning in the Spring semester of 2019-2020, school nurses may begin entering student
BMI screening information into the Growth Exam Screen in the Medical section of
eSchool Plus. School nurses and/or any
other employees conducting the screening should have a clear understanding of
the data entry requirements. Data entry
for the required grades will be April 15,
Cycle 6 of the State Information
System (SIS). School personnel must
enter the following Growth Exam Screen fields to ensure accurate BMI
classification calculation:
-
Date
– the date of the exam
-
Location
- where the exam was conducted (this replaces the previously used Station Form)
-
Weight
– enter measurement in decimal format
-
Height
– enter measurement in decimal format (during the screening process, the
student’s height must be measured at least twice, for BMI data entry purposes,
the second height must be entered into the Growth Exam Screen)
-
Notes
- enter the corresponding two-letter
code to indicate the purpose for “Unable to Assess”:
-
AB – Absent
-
CR – Child Refused
-
PR – Parent Refused
-
PT – Pregnant
-
PD – Physically Disabled
-
HT – 2nd Height Measure not within 1
inch
-
WT – Weight Exceeded Scale
-
OT – Other (if other is chosen, provide an
explanation)
Please Refer to the attached Data
Entry Quick Guide & BMI training manual for more details.
Parent Notification
The Student Health Screening Report was developed in the Cognos
Reporting System to replace the previous BMI Parent Letter. This report includes
Vision, Hearing, Scoliosis and BMI screening results. Schools may use the Student Health Screening Report
to fulfill the parent notification mandate for BMI screening. A sample report
is attached to this memo.
Training for BMI Data Entry
The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Arkansas Center
for Health Improvement (ACHI) and the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH)
coordinated to revise the BMI Screening Program: Height & Weight
Measurement Training Manual to reflect the data entry changes. The DESE
encourages all public school employees who are responsible for entering BMI
screening information into eSchool Plus, to view this brief training session : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M7nTVpK3u44tZuJH_Cq4JggOl26jGr4N/view?usp=sharing.
For questions regarding this memo, please contact Cheria McDonald, DESE
State School Nurse Consultant.