§ 909 — School hygiene districts

§ 909. School hygiene districts. 1. The board of supervisors of any\ncounty, with the approval of the commissioner of education, shall have\npower to establish in such county a school hygiene district which shall\ninclude the supervisory district or districts in such county, as defined\nin this chapter. The board of education of any union free school\ndistrict of four thousand five hundred or more population, which employs\na superintendent of schools, or of any city having a population of less\nthan fifty thousand, within such county, may at any time adopt a\nresolution requesting that such union free school district or city be\nincluded within such school hygiene district, and after the approval of\nsuch request by the district committee on school hygiene, herein-below\nmentioned, and by the commissioner of education, and upon the subsequent\nfiling by the clerk of such board of education of a certified copy of\nsuch resolution and of a certified copy of such approvals with the clerk\nof the board of supervisors, such union free school district or city\nshall be included within such school hygiene district.\n 2. When such a school hygiene district is established, as hereinabove\nprovided, the board of supervisors shall appropriate funds for the\nsalary and necessary expenses of a district director of school hygiene.\nFunds may also be appropriated for assistants to the director of school\nhygiene. Within thirty days after such appropriation is made the\nchairman of the board of supervisors shall call a meeting, to be held at\na date as early as practicable, of the district superintendents and\nschool superintendents in such school hygiene district together with the\nchairman of the board of supervisors, at which meeting such persons\nshall organize themselves into a district committee on school hygiene\nand shall elect a chairman thereof. In any school hygiene district which\nincludes part or all of a county health district, as defined in the\npublic health law, the district health officer of such county health\ndistrict shall be a member of such committee. The district director of\nschool hygiene and assistants shall be appointed by and work under the\ndirection of such district committee on school hygiene. They shall meet\nthe qualifications established by the commissioner of education and be\ncertificated as supervisors of teachers. Any person appointed as such\ndistrict director of school hygiene shall be a physician duly licensed\nand registered to practice in this state and shall have practiced as a\nphysician, or been engaged in public health work, for at least two\nyears.\n 3. It shall be the duty of the district director of school hygiene to\nadvise, assist, and exercise general supervision over, medical\ninspectors, dentists and school nurses in the public schools in such\nschool hygiene district; to keep informed as to their work and require\nsuch reports from them as he may deem necessary; to see that suitable\nrecommendations based on the findings of the medical inspectors in their\nexaminations of pupils are brought to the attention of their teachers\nand of those in parental relation to such pupils; to aid, and keep\ninformed as to the work of, oral hygienists, nutrition workers, and\nother school employees engaged in health work in such schools; to\ninspect, and report to the proper authorities on, the sanitary\nconditions of school buildings, and in other ways to promote the\nphysical welfare and health education of pupils. Whenever the board of\nsupervisors, or, in a county constituting, in whole or in part, a county\nhealth district, the district health officer thereof, shall, under any\nprovisions of law now in force or hereafter enacted, assign any public\nhealth nurse to the duties of a school nurse in any school or schools\nwithin a school hygiene district, she may be assigned to perform such\nduties under the direct control of the district director of school\nhygiene of such school hygiene district. Such district director of\nschool hygiene shall be subject to supervision by the state medical\ninspector of schools.\n 4. If it be ascertained upon any test or examination held by a medical\ninspector under the provisions of section nine hundred four of this\narticle in any of the school districts within a school hygiene district\nthat any of the pupils are afflicted with defective sight or hearing or\nother physical disability and the parents have been duly notified as to\nthe existence of such defects and physical disability and are unable to\nprovide the necessary relief and treatment for such pupils and such fact\nis reported by said medical inspector to the district director of school\nhygiene, such district director shall have power and it shall be his\nduty to provide relief for such pupils within the amount appropriated\nfor such purpose by the board of supervisors.\n 5. The board of supervisors, after determining the amount of the\nappropriation necessary for the salary and expenses of such district\ndirector of school hygiene and assistants, shall levy one-half of such\namount by tax on the towns, union free school districts and cities, if\nany, included within such school hygiene district, and shall apportion\nsuch amount, so levied, among such towns, union free school districts\nand cities, according to the assessed valuation of the taxable property\ntherein. Whenever a board of supervisors shall make such an\nappropriation and levy such a tax, the commissioner of education shall\napportion to each such town, union free school district and city, an\namount equal to that so levied upon each such respective town, union\nfree school district or city. The board of supervisors shall likewise,\nafter determining the amount of the appropriation necessary for expenses\nincurred for the relief of pupils under subdivision four of this\nsection, levy the total amount by tax upon the towns, union free school\ndistricts and cities, if any, included within such school hygiene\ndistrict, and shall apportion such amount so levied among such towns,\nunion free school districts and cities according to the assessed\nvaluation of the taxable property therein. The sums collected from the\ntaxes so levied, and the amount apportioned by the commissioner of\neducation, shall be paid to the county treasurer of such county, who\nshall expend such moneys for the purposes hereinabove provided and in\nthe same manner as other county charges are paid.\n