Each county collaborative early childhood core team must establish a universal application and enrollment process that includes provisions for classroom placement. The universal application must be used for all enrolling children. This process must include steps to collect applications, maintain selection criteria, and monitor placement. This process must be transparent and available to the public. The county collaborative core team must ensure that every eligible child has been offered placement in the program. The universal application must include questions to determine eligibility, services, and family needs. Questions on the application must assist in determining:
Information from the application must be utilized as part of a countywide universal enrollment process. The universal enrollment process must include provisions for collection and review of universal applications. The county collaborative early childhood team must have selection criteria and placement process to enroll children in classrooms based on information collected. The universal application and enrollment process must be centralized to ensure all eligible children have been offered placement based on the county’s established placement process. The placement process, when transparent and available to the public, will assist program staff in articulating the steps that the core team utilizes to enroll eligible children in all universal pre-k classrooms.
Live Birth Certificate and Enrollment
WV state law requires that a copy of the pupil’s original birth record certified by the state registrar of vital statistics be presented for all children entering public school for the first time. W.Va. §18-2-5c. Birth certificate required upon admission to public school; required notice to local law-enforcement agency of missing children, states the following:
(a) No pupil shall be admitted for the first time to any public school in this State unless the person enrolling the pupil presents a copy of the pupil’s original birth record certified by the state registrar of vital statistics confirming the pupil’s identity, age, and state file number of the original birth record. If a certified copy of the pupil’s birth record cannot be obtained, the person so enrolling the pupil shall submit an affidavit explaining the inability to produce a certified copy of the record: Provided, that if any person submitting such affidavit is in the U.S. military service and is in transit due to military orders, a three week extension shall be granted to such person for providing the birth records.
(b) Upon the failure of any person enrolling a pupil to furnish a certified copy of the pupil’s birth record in conformance with subsection (a) above, the principal of the school in which the pupil is being enrolled or his designee shall immediately notify the local law-enforcement agency. The notice to the local law-enforcement agency shall include copies of the submitted proof of the pupil’s identity and age and the affidavit explaining the inability to produce a certified copy of the birth record.
A Superintendent’s interpretation addressing Live Birth Certificates and School Enrollment is available to further assist county collaborative early childhood teams in maintaining birth certificate requirements for enrollment.
Enrollment and Health Requirements
WV state law requires that a copy of the pupil’s original birth record certified by the state registrar of vital statistics be presented for all children entering public school for the first time. W.Va. §18-2-5c. Birth certificate required upon admission to public school; required notice to local law-enforcement agency of missing children, states the following:
(a) No pupil shall be admitted for the first time to any public school in this State unless the person enrolling the pupil presents a copy of the pupil’s original birth record certified by the state registrar of vital statistics confirming the pupil’s identity, age, and state file number of the original birth record. If a certified copy of the pupil’s birth record cannot be obtained, the person so enrolling the pupil shall submit an affidavit explaining the inability to produce a certified copy of the record: Provided, that if any person submitting such affidavit is in the U.S. military service and is in transit due to military orders, a three week extension shall be granted to such person for providing the birth records.
(b) Upon the failure of any person enrolling a pupil to furnish a certified copy of the pupil’s birth record in conformance with subsection (a) above, the principal of the school in which the pupil is being enrolled or his designee shall immediately notify the local law-enforcement agency. The notice to the local law-enforcement agency shall include copies of the submitted proof of the pupil’s identity and age and the affidavit explaining the inability to produce a certified copy of the birth record.
A Superintendent’s interpretation addressing Live Birth Certificates and School Enrollment is available to further assist county collaborative early childhood teams in maintaining birth certificate requirements for enrollment.
Age-Appropriate Immunization Record
All children entering the pre-k program must have an age-appropriate immunization record based on the required immunization schedule set forth by Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Children who are not fully immunized may be provisionally enrolled; however, a full immunization plan must be in place and monitored for completion of all required immunizations. Children who do not have full immunizations may not enter a WV Universal Pre-K classroom until they are up-to-date on all required vaccinations and awaiting the next scheduled dose(s). These children must have at least the first dose of each required vaccination. If the child can receive the next dose(s) according to the CDC Immunization schedule then they must complete these doses to provide an “age-appropriate immunization record” to be provisionally enrolled. An immunization plan for completion of vaccinations must also be in place. WVBE Policy 2525 and WVBE Policy 2423: Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, specifically address immunization requirements for enrollment. Additional information related to immunization requirements can be found on the WV DHHR immunization requirement website.
Immunization data must be entered into the West Virginia Statewide Immunization Information System, or WVSIIS. WVSIIS is a confidential, computerized information system where shot records are maintained. State law requires all medical providers to report all immunizations to patients under the age of 18 in WVSIIS within two weeks from the date administered.
Health Check Screening
All children entering a WV Universal Pre-K program are required to have on file within 45 days of enrollment/entry or before the first day of school attendance a record of a HealthCheck screening, or other comprehensive health screening comparable to the HealthCheck protocol. HealthCheck screening forms must be signed and dated by the child’s licensed healthcare provider and completed within the past twelve months from enrollment/entry. HealthCheck is West Virginia’s Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Program (E.P.S.D.T.). The HealthCheck Program promotes regular preventive medical care and the diagnosis and treatment of any health problem found during a screening.
West Virginia Code §18-5-17 requires screening for potential problems in the areas of vision, hearing, speech, and language. WVBE Policy 2525 has required a HealthCheck or comparable comprehensive physical examination for enrollment into Pre-K since 2007 to meet this statute. Limited large-scale school screenings were removed from this policy in 2007 to align with federal Head Start requirements for children to receive an annual well-child visit from their medical home and to prevent duplication of screening services.
To facilitate this process, counties should work with local medical providers and healthcare agencies while utilizing the services of WVDHHR-Regional HealthCheck Specialists (Program Specialists) to ensure all children are receiving an annual well-child checkup (comprehensive screening) by their medical home indicated by documentation on the HealthCheck or comparable comprehensive physical form. The completed physical form is acceptable for the initial screening requirements in W. Va. Code §18-5-17. Once a new enterer has been screened through a HealthCheck/comprehensive physical, they will not need further screenings to continue Pre-K or advance into Kindergarten within the public school system. After a new enterer meets the enrollment criteria, all future screening will be based on school, teacher, parent, or medical provider referrals related to individual student needs, rather than large-scale screenings. Once entering the educational system, any potential educational and medical deficit(s) are assessed and identified daily within the classroom and school setting. School systems must manage care with the medical community to ensure coordinated care with proper diagnosis and treatment.
The use of HealthCheck assists in efforts to utilize the time of teachers and Professional Support Personnel (school nurses, audiologists, speech, and language pathologists, etc.) to provide more direct services to the student population with identified needs and specialized health care while allowing individualized assessments and follow-ups for student referrals. These key professional support personnel should ensure teachers and early education personnel are aware of any missing HealthCheck screening components after follow-up with the medical home has proven unsuccessful.
HealthCheck Screening data should be entered into the “WVEIS on the Web-Health tab” then “Screening”. The HealthCheck and school screens may be entered into this same area. The “oral health screening” is NOT for the required dental exam but an oral screening completed by the medical provider. Please do not enter dental examination data in this area.
Oral Health Examination
WVBE Policy 2423 requires a dental examination as part of the enrollment health requirements for all new entrants. This requirement is echoed in WVBE Policy 2525. These practices are in place to support the development of the whole child to foster learning. Separate from the oral screen completed by a medical provider (described in the above section), a dental examination should be completed within one year before the date of enrollment. If a child has not completed a dental exam before enrollment, the exam should be conducted within 45 days after enrollment on the first day of school. The examination should be conducted by the child’s dentist if one has been established. Parents can work with school staff if assistance is needed to establish a dental home. If any family is unable to find a dental home, children may be able to enroll in the Oral Disease Prevention Program, or ODPP, at the school.
Dental Examination data will be entered into the WV Statewide Immunization Information System (WVSIIS) under the Dental Module in the future. At this time, counties are asked to maintain the paper record and keep track of completion via spreadsheet or checklist. Each public school will be populated with directory data to allow access to school-specific reports on missing data. The Dental Module should be piloted during spring 2017, and the opening is targeted for fall 2017.
WVEIS Enrollment for Pre-K/Full Time Equivalent (FTE)
Every student enrolled in West Virginian public schools must be enrolled in the West Virginia Education Information System or WVEIS. Through WVEIS enrollment, each student receives a unique student number. The number is nine digits long and identifies the student during their years in the state public school system. The number is used to track students for state and federal accountability and reporting. The student number is created by combining the two-digit district number, where the student initially enrolled in the West Virginia public school system, and a seven-digit number generated from a unique district counter. All students enrolling must be entered using STU.301. Full-time equivalent (FTE) describes the maximum number of funding generated per pupil based on each county’s school aid formula. Full-time equivalent is defined as a minimum of 1500 minutes per week and 48,000 minutes per year. Children enrolled less than the FTE are considered part-time. When children are enrolled and registered in WVEIS, the FTE must be included to accurately determine the FTE value.
Enrolling/Scheduling Early Childhood Students is a memorandum that details guidance for enrolling children in WVEIS. From the WVEIS Student Support Page, click on the link titled Early Childhood Students FTE and Pre-K Enrollment. It includes provisions for children who are enrolled in pre-k less than the minimum required time of fifteen hundred minutes per week and forty-eight thousand minutes in each school year. Guidance resources for enrolling children in STU.301 and 380 can be accessed at the WVEIS website
Each county pre-k program must establish a process to ensure that enrollment information is maintained in WVEIS, including provisions for maintaining changes in enrollment throughout the year. Information for all children enrolled in WV Universal Pre-K must be entered in WVEIS menu item STU.380. Use the following steps to complete the STU.380 process:
**PLEASE NOTE: Double-clicking the submit button in STU.380 will erase all information for that school.