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Official website

of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    The .gov means it's official.

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    On July 12, 2026, Act 20 was signed into law in Pennsylvania. This law amended the language in sections 1402 and 1408 related to growth screening and BMI measurements in the Public School Code. Under Act 20:

    • Children of school age shall be given a measurement of height and weight by a school nurse or other health care practitioner in a manner that protects student confidentiality and shall use the measurement to track a child’s growth pattern.
    • A parent or legal guardian may exempt a student from height and weight measurement with a written request to the school entity.     
    • BMI percentile information is only available to a parent or guardian upon written request. See 24 P.S. § 14-1408(b).

    Both the Growth Screening Exemption Form Template and the Template Pennsylvania Student Wellness Report developed by the Department serve only as templates and are not required to be used by schools.

      * This template provides the relevant information necessary for a parent to speak to their child’s physician regarding their child’s wellness.