Opt-In to Student Health.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 785

Short Title: Opt-In to Student Health. (Public)
Sponsors: Senator Bradley (Primary Sponsor).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
April 22, 2026
*S785-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO CLARIFY REQUIREMENTS FOR HEALTH SCREENINGS IN SCHOOLS. 2
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 3
SECTION 1. G.S. 115C-76.45(a) reads as rewritten: 4
"(a) The governing body of a public school unit shall adopt procedures to notify a parent 5
of the following: 6
(1) At the beginning of each school year, notice of each health care service offered 7
at his or her child's school and the means for the parent to provide consent for 8
any specific service. A parent's consent to a health care service does not waive 9
the parent's right to access his or her child's educational records or health 10
records or to be notified of changes in his or her child's services or monitoring. 11
A health care service under this subdivision does not include a he alth care 12
screening. 13
(2) At the beginning of each school year, procedures to exercise the parental 14
remedies provided by G.S. 115C-76.60. 15
(3) Prior to administration to students in kindergarten through third grade, a copy 16
of any student well -being questionn aire or health screening form and the 17
means for the parent to consent to the use of the questionnaire or form for his 18
or her child. 19
(4) Prior to or contemporaneous with changes, notice of changes in services or 20
monitoring related to his or her child's ment al, emotional, or physical health 21
or well-being and the school's ability to provide a safe and supportive learning 22
environment for that child. 23
(5) Prior to any changes in the name or pronoun used for a student in school 24
records or by school personnel, notice to the parent of the change. 25
(6) Notice of health care screenings as provided in G.S. 115C-76.46." 26
SECTION 2. Part 4 of Article 7B of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is 27
amended by adding a new section to read: 28
"§ 115C-76.46. School health care screenings. 29
(a) A health care screening is one of the following screenings: 30
(1) Vision screening. 31
(2) Hearing screening. 32
(3) Dental screening. 33
(4) Developmental screening for cognition, language, and motor function 34
conducted in accordance with G.S. 115C-83.5(a). 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 785-First Edition
(b) A public school unit may conduct a health care screening without parental consent 1
but shall provide a parent notice (i) at the beginning of the school year on all screenings to be 2
conducted and (ii) of the results of those screenings for their child." 3
SECTION 3. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 4
Public Instruction the sum of twenty -five thousand dollars ($25,000) in recurring funds for the 5
2026-2027 fiscal year to develop an awareness campaign and canvassing init iative to address 6
declines in student health and parental awareness of student health options. 7
SECTION 4. This act becomes effective July 1, 2026. 8