Sec. 9316.
(1) By the 2021-2022 school year, the department shall establish and maintain a dental oral assessment program to provide dental oral assessments to children residing in this state whose parents, guardians, or persons in loco parentis do not have dental oral assessments conducted as described in subsection (5)(a) but otherwise decide to have dental oral assessments conducted on their children under this section.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), the department shall accomplish the program by contracting with a government entity or person, which may include a grantee health agency described in section 16625. The following apply to the government entity or person selected by the department under this subsection:
(a) The government entity or person shall conduct the program in each area served by a local health department and shall publicize the dental oral assessment service and the time and place of the clinics.
(b) A dental oral assessment administered under the program must include a limited clinical inspection, performed by a dentist or a dental hygienist, to identify possible signs of oral or systemic disease, malformation, or injury, and the potential need for referral for diagnosis and treatment.
(3) If a school district has entered into a contract with a government entity or person to administer dental oral assessments to the school district's students, the school district may continue to use the government entity or person to conduct the dental oral assessments if the school district ensures that the dental oral assessments are conducted by May 31 of each year and the requirements of subsections (4) and (7) are met and provides all of the following information to the department:
(a) The name of the government entity or person that conducts the dental oral assessments.
(b) Each date the government entity or person is scheduled to provide the dental oral assessments.
(c) The total number of dental oral assessments that are scheduled.
(4) When the result of a dental oral assessment indicates that a child requires follow-up care, the dentist or dental hygienist or government entity or person conducting the assessment shall present to the individual bringing the child a written statement clearly indicating that follow-up treatment is encouraged and, upon request, provide information concerning the availability and sources of dental treatment required to eliminate or reduce an identified problem.
(5) Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, a parent, guardian, or person in loco parentis applying to have a child registered for the first time in kindergarten or first grade in a school in this state may do the following:
(a) Have a dentist or dental hygienist conduct a dental oral assessment on the child not earlier than 6 months before the date of the child's registration with the school and obtain from the dentist or dental hygienist a written statement certifying that the child has received the dental oral assessment within the time frame required under this subdivision. The written statement must be on a form prescribed by the department.
(b) If the parent, guardian, or person in loco parentis of the child does not have a dental oral assessment conducted as described in subdivision (a), have a dental oral assessment conducted on the child by the government entity or person selected by the department under subsection (2).
(6) Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, a parent, guardian, or person in loco parentis applying to have a child registered for the first time in kindergarten or first grade in a school in this state who chooses to have a dental oral assessment conducted on the child as described in subsection (5) may present to school officials, at the time of registration or not later than the first day of school, the statement described in subsection (5) or a written statement indicating that the parent, guardian, or person in loco parentis of the child will provide for the child's dental oral assessment by a government entity or person selected by the department under subsection (2). A child shall not be excluded from school attendance if the parent, guardian, or person in loco parentis of the child does not present a statement to school officials under this section.
(7) Before November 1 of each year, beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, the principal or administrator of each school shall give the department a summary of any dental reports that it receives at the time of school entry of new kindergarten and first grade students. The reports must be made on forms provided or approved by the department.
(8) This section does not apply in a fiscal year in which the legislature does not appropriate money for the program.
(9) As used in this section, "program" means the dental oral assessment program described in subsection (1).
(10) This section does not apply beginning January 1, 2024.
History: Add. 2020, Act 261, Eff. Mar. 29, 2021
Popular Name: Act 368