Can DCPS Health forms be completed by practitioners outside of the DMV area?

[Anonymous]

We are moving to DC this summer and will be enrolling our kids in DCPS when we do. I’m trying to get all of the necessary documentation together, including the health forms. Is our current pediatrician (in CT) able to fill out the forms, or does it have to be someone local? Same goes for the dentist. We don’t have a new doctors yet so I was hoping our current one could do it, but she mentioned that some states don’t accept forms completed by non-local practitioners. I’ve reached out to both the district-wide and school-specific enrollment contacts but have yet to receive a response back. I appreciate any insight you all could offer!

[Anonymous]

If you know the school, you can call and ask the registrar.

But in my experience, (dd has a late, late summer birthday so we usually don’t have the new medical form until after school starts) you should be able to get your child registered and do the health forms later.

[Anonymous]

Nobody is ever going to even look at the form and they probably will not even ask for it. I stopped submitting the forms 4 years ago and never in 10 years in DCPS submitted a dental form. Just have your local pediatrician do the form. Nobody will check and if they do you’ll have plenty of time to redo it.

[Anonymous]

You can and we've done it. The challenge is that DC area doctors are familiar with the form and do things right the first time. You may have to do some follow up with an out of area practitioner.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to DC! I have in fact gotten calls and letters from school nurses saying my child's form was expired or I hadn't submitted one for that year.

My hunch is that the provider doesn't have to be local--if it were me in your shoes, I'd just get your current ped and/or dentist to do the forms at an appointment and bring them with you. If you don't have an appointment between now and when you move, just get them done when you have a local appointment.

[Anonymous]

Yes, anyone can fill the form.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nobody is ever going to even look at the form and they probably will not even ask for it. I stopped submitting the forms 4 years ago and never in 10 years in DCPS submitted a dental form. Just have your local pediatrician do the form. Nobody will check and if they do you’ll have plenty of time to redo it.

Huh. Our school starts calls and emails within a week of the form’s “expiration” date. They threaten to cancel aftercare enrollment if you don’t respond.

[Anonymous]

Shouldn’t be a problem. We were moving back to DC from abroad last year and I had the forms filled by our local pediatrician and dentist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Welcome to DC! I have in fact gotten calls and letters from school nurses saying my child's form was expired or I hadn't submitted one for that year.

My hunch is that the provider doesn't have to be local--if it were me in your shoes, I'd just get your current ped and/or dentist to do the forms at an appointment and bring them with you. If you don't have an appointment between now and when you move, just get them done when you have a local appointment.

Me too, and I ignored the calls, and my child is still enrolled years later. I’m sure there are some schools that are more insistent but I seriously doubt they are going to care which doctor signed the form. In fact I would be shocked if they even checked that it was an actual doctor.

[Anonymous]

Having the form filled out will matter if your kid wants to do DCIAA sports. So, 4th grade and above.

[Anonymous]

Yes. As long as they are a licensed practitioner and complete the form you are fine.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thank you all so much for the responses! We have one last appointment with both the pediatrician and the dentist before we leave so I’m going to have them fill out the forms.