COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio schools no longer have to gather body-mass index measurements, just two years after a state law required the screenings.
The Columbus Dispatch (http://bit.ly/Q7Wf4B ) reports that state lawmakers in June decided to make BMI screenings optional. Only some districts complied with the law, and some of those have decided to drop the practice.
State Sen. Tim Schaffer, a Lancaster Republican who proposed the change, said the screenings had started to draw educational resources from the schools.
The aim of the 2010 law was better health monitoring. It required districts to gather the BMIs of students in kindergarten and first, third, fifth and ninth grades.
The screenings were used to let parents know whether their children fell in the underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obese range.
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
