How to Fill Out and Submit Georgia Form 3300: Screenings, Deadlines, Exemption

Georgia Form 3300 is the Certificate of Vision, Hearing, Dental, and Nutrition Screening that every child must have on file when first enrolling in a Georgia public school or state-funded Pre-K program. A licensed healthcare provider performs the four screenings and completes the form, and you turn it in to the school at enrollment. All four screenings must have been done within the 12 months before your child’s first day.¹

Who Needs the Form

The requirement applies at first admission to a Georgia public school. That covers kindergarteners, students transferring in from out of state, children coming from a Georgia private school, and children moving from homeschooling into the public system.² Children entering Georgia’s Pre-K Program also need the certificate.³

Once a Form 3300 is on file, it stays with your child’s school record. A student moving between Georgia public schools does not need a new one.

Where to Get the Form

You can download a blank Form 3300 from the Georgia Department of Public Health website.⁴ Most pediatrician offices and county health departments also keep copies in stock, so printing it yourself is usually optional.

Where to Get the Screenings

You have two main options.

Your child’s pediatrician or family doctor can do all four screenings in a single well-child visit and complete the form at the same appointment. Under the Affordable Care Act, children’s vision and hearing screenings are generally covered as preventive services at no cost with an in-network provider. Dental coverage depends on whether your plan includes pediatric dental benefits.⁵

County health departments across Georgia also offer the screenings, with fees that vary by county. One metro-Atlanta health district, as an example, charges $10 each for hearing and vision, $15 each for dental and nutrition, or $50 for all four together.⁶ Call ahead to confirm pricing and whether an appointment is required.

If your child had any of the screenings done within the past 12 months by a different provider, a county health department can often transfer those results onto Form 3300 with documentation, so your child may not have to repeat every test.⁶

Who Can Sign Each Section

Not every provider is authorized to complete every section. A Georgia-licensed physician (or someone working under a physician’s supervision), a local health department, or a school registered nurse can perform and sign off on all four screenings.

Individual sections can also be completed by specialists in that area:

Vision: a Georgia-licensed optometrist or a trained Prevent Blindness Georgia employee.
Hearing: a Georgia-licensed audiologist or speech-language pathologist.
Dental: a Georgia-licensed dentist or dental hygienist.
Nutrition: a Georgia-licensed dietitian.⁷

You do not need to use the same provider for every section. A pediatrician could handle vision, hearing, and nutrition while a separate dentist completes the dental section. The certificate is valid as long as each section is signed by an authorized provider.

Timing: The One-Year Rule

Every screening on the form must have been performed within one year before your child’s first day of school.¹ A screening done 13 months earlier is expired and must be redone. Scheduling in the spring or summer before enrollment is a safe bet for keeping all four results inside the window.

Each section must show the date of the screening and the signature of the provider who performed it. A form with a missing date or signature on any section is incomplete, and the school can reject it.

Turning the Form In

Bring the completed Form 3300 to the school at enrollment and give it to the registrar or whoever handles enrollment paperwork. Staff will check that all four sections are filled in, signed, and dated within the one-year window.

If the certificate is not ready on the first day, your child can still start school. Georgia’s rule gives parents three months from the date of admission to turn in the completed form.² Schools track that deadline, and the forms are subject to audit by the Department of Public Health and the local health department.¹

If a Screening Flags a Problem

A “needs further evaluation” result on any section does not stop your child from enrolling. It means the screening picked up something that calls for a closer look by a specialist — an eye doctor, audiologist, or dentist, depending on the section.⁸ Your doctor or local health department can help with a referral.

If a disability or health condition prevents your child from taking or passing a screening, the provider does not leave the section blank. The screener explains on the form why the test could not be given or passed, notes whether the child is already under professional care, and includes information useful for educational planning.⁹ Where the results point to a significant impairment, the school may begin an evaluation under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to decide whether your child qualifies for accommodations or support services.¹⁰

Religious Exemption

Georgia allows a religious exemption from any or all four screenings. To claim it, give the school a notarized statement explaining that the screening conflicts with your religious beliefs. The notarized statement replaces the certificate for the exempted screenings and stays in the school’s file. If your child later transfers to another Georgia public school, the statement travels with the record the same way a completed Form 3300 would.¹¹

1
Cornell Law Institute. Ga Comp R and Regs R 511-5-6-.02 – Filing of Certificates
2
Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Code 511-5-6 – Vision, Hearing, Dental, and Nutrition Screening of Children Entering Public Schools – Section: Rule 511-5-6-.02 Filing of Certificates
3
Georgia.gov. Get Required Health Records to Attend School
4
Georgia Department of Public Health. School Health
5
HealthCare.gov. Preventive Care Benefits for Children
6
GNR Public Health. School-Required Screenings and Immunizations
7
Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Code 511-5-6 – Vision, Hearing, Dental, and Nutrition Screening of Children Entering Public Schools – Section: Rule 511-5-6-.04 Screening Standards
8
Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Code 511-5-6 – Vision, Hearing, Dental, and Nutrition Screening of Children Entering Public Schools
9
Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Code 511-5-6 – Vision, Hearing, Dental, and Nutrition Screening of Children Entering Public Schools – Section: Rule 511-5-6-.05 Certificate for Child with a Disability or Health Condition
10
U.S. Department of Education. Frequently Asked Questions – Section 504 Free Appropriate Public Education
11
Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Code 511-5-6 – Vision, Hearing, Dental, and Nutrition Screening of Children Entering Public Schools – Section: Rule 511-5-6-.06 Certificate for Child Exempt from Screenings