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Title: School Health Act Ch
Date: 2015.12.30
Legislative: 1.All 29 articles amended and promulgated by the (2002) Presidential
Order Hua-Zong-Yi-Yi-Zi No. 09100025070 on February 6, 2002 are
effective from the date of promulgation.
2.Amended Article 12,15,16,22,23 and added Articles 23-1 to 23-3 and
promulgated by the (2013) Presidential Order Hua-Zong-Yi-Yi-Zi
No. 10200229241 on December 18, 2013.
3.Amendments of Articles 5, 16, and 20 to 23-2 of the School
Health Act promulgated December 30, 2015
Content:

Article 1
This Act has been formulated to promote the health of
students and all staff members, and establish a foundation
for national health, and improve people’s quality of life.
Matters that are not addressed in this Act shall be
governed by the provisions of other relevant laws.

Article 2
In this Act the term ‘competent authority’ refers to: the
Ministry

of Education at the central government level; the municipal
government at the municipality level; and the county or
city government at the county or city level respectively. 
When any matter undertaken in accordance with the
provisions of this Act requires the involvement of people
working in the health, environmental protection, or social
affairs jurisdictions, the competent authority shall handle
the matter in conjunction with all relevant bodies in the
respective jurisdiction.

 

Article 3
The competent authority at each level and schools at all
levels throughout Taiwan (hereafter referred to by
“school” or "schools") shall conduct school health-related
work in accordance with this Act.

Article 4
The competent authority at each level shall designate
dedicated units and appoint professionals to handle school
health-related matters.

Article 5  
The competent authority at each level shall select and
appoint scholars, experts, and representatives of
organizations, and relevant bodies to form a School Health
Committee with the responsibility to:
1.Provide consultation, guidance, and advice regarding
  school health policies and regulations;
2.Provide consultation, guidance, and advice regarding
  school health planning, programs, measures, and
  evaluation;
3.Provide consultation, guidance, and advice regarding
  planning, and research and development matters related to
  school health education and activities;
4.Provide consultation, guidance, and advice regarding
  planning, and research and development matters related to
  school health and healthcare services;
5.Provide consultation, guidance and advice regarding the
  planning, and research and development of the health
  related management of school environments;
6.Coordinate relevant bodies and organizations to promote
  and implement school health matters; and
7.Provide consultation regarding other matters related to
  school health promotion and implementation.

Article 6
Schools shall designate units and/or dedicated personnel to
be responsible for the planning, design, promotion, and
implementation of school health related matters.
Schools shall have a health center to serve as a venue for
health checks, health management, first aid and emergency
care, health counseling, and health education support.

Article 7
Schools at the senior high school or lower level with less
than 40 classes shall have one nurse on staff; schools with
more than 40 classes shall have at least two nurses on
staff.

Schools at the junior college level and above may put
nurses on staff using the ratios stipulated in the
preceding paragraph.

School medical personnel shall be legally qualified and
registered.

Article 8
Schools shall establish a student health management system
and organize student health examinations on a regular basis.
When necessary, schools may organize other health
examinations of students and all staff members for specific
purposes, or disease-specific checkups.
The implementation regulations governing who is to be
examined, and the specific scope, methods, and other
matters related to the student health examinations referred
to in the preceding paragraph shall be determined by the
central competent authority in conjunction with the central
competent health authority.

Article 9
Schools shall include students' health check-ups and
disease examination results in each student’s records, and
if a student transfers to another school, these health
related records shall be forwarded to their new school.

The student records referred to in the preceding paragraph
shall be kept confidential and may not be disclosed without
due cause. This restriction does not apply when a student’s
medical records are required for teaching, counseling, or
medical reasons and parental consent of the student has been
obtained, or when any other law or regulation requires such
records to be provided.

Article 10
Schools shall provide health guidance, and/or organize
corrective treatment for physical defects, or arrange
treatment referrals, based on students' health examination
results.

Article  11
Schools shall increase the work they do to prevent and
treat the poor vision, dental cavities, parasitic diseases,
hepatitis, curvature of the spine, sports injuries, obesity,
and poor nutrition or malnutrition that are physical
defects and conditions commonly seen in students.

Article 12
Schools shall increase the counseling and care they provide
for students with heart disease, asthma, epilepsy, diabetes,
and hemophilia, cancer, mental illness, rare diseases, and
any other major illness, and students with disabilities.
When necessary, their schoolwork and activities may be
adjusted to accommodate their needs.

 

Article 13
When a school becomes aware that any student or any staff
member has contracted an infectious disease, it shall
undertake appropriate epidemic prevention and monitoring
measures in conjunction with the health and environmental
protection authorities. When necessary, access to the
school may be prohibited.

The competent authority at each level may order the
suspension of classes, to prevent the school from spreading
a communicable disease.

 

Article 14
Schools shall collaborate with the competent health
authority to organize post-enrollment student vaccinations.

First year elementary school students shall have had all
scheduled vaccinations completed before their enrollment.
Schools shall notify the health authority about
supplementary vaccinations of students who have not been
fully vaccinated before enrollment.

Article 15
In order to provide appropriate first aid care for students
and all staff members who have an injury or illness
requiring urgent care, schools shall, as stipulated in 
Paragraph  2 , formulate emergency injury treatment
protocols, and enhance on-campus knowledge of first aid.

The competent authority at each level shall prescribe the
regulations governing the specific scope, procedures, and
other matters arising in connection with handling an injury
or illness requiring urgent care, as referred to in the
preceding paragraph.

If a school discovers any case of suspected food poisoning,
the school shall take emergency first-aid measures and
shall at the same time notify the competent health
authority of the municipality or county (city) to handle
the matter.

Article 16   
Schools at the senior secondary and lower levels shall
establish health related courses, and educational
institutions at junior college level and higher may
establish such courses if deemed necessary.
Health related courses, teaching materials, and teaching
methodology shall be appropriate to the students’ stage
of growth and development, and their needs, and shall take
into proper consideration their cognition, cultivating
affirmative attitudes, and skill related aspects.

The health-related courses referred to in Paragraph 1 shall
include healthy eating education, which has the aim of
establishing proper dietary habits, fostering respect for
life and nature, enhancing awareness of environmental
protection, and deepening students’ understanding of where
foods come from, and of national and regional food cultures.
 
Schools shall encourage students to participate in the
preparation of school meals.

Article 17
Teachers of health-related courses shall participate in
professional on-the-job further training to improve their
teaching methodology, and make health-related teaching and
learning more effective.

The competent authority or the school may recommend and
send teachers to participate in further health curriculum
training, based on actual needs.
 
Article 18
Schools offering health-related courses shall maintain
fully adequate their health-related course teaching
facilities. When necessary, specialized health-related
classrooms may be set up.

Article 19
Schools shall conduct more health promotion and activities
that establish healthy lifestyle behaviors.

Article 20   
Schools at the senior secondary and lower levels shall work
together with students' families and the community,
integrating the human and other resources that they can
contribute, and jointly undertake community-based healthy
eating education and environmental protection activities.
Educational institutions at junior college level and above
may do the same.
 
Article 21  
The planning for the construction of an educational
institution shall take into consideration the geology, soil
and water conservation, traffic and transportation, air and
water pollution, noise, and other aspects of the proposed
campus site that affect the environment.

The buildings, drinking water, toilets, washbasins, garbage
management, wastewater treatment, noise, ventilation,
lighting, adequate natural light, chalkboards, classroom
desks and chairs, fire safety equipment, disability access
provisions, and breastfeeding facilities on campus shall be
in compliance with the standards prescribed in the related
laws and regulations.

Article 22   
Educational institutions shall strengthen the health
management of their cafeterias, kitchens, and student and
staff cooperative stores.
 
The competent authority at each level or individual
educational institutions shall organize health-related
training, further education, and workshops for the
personnel working in the facilities referred to in the
previous paragraph.

Food and beverage hygiene management in educational
institutions shall be undertaken in accordance with the
Regulations on Food Good Hygiene Practice (GHP) referred to
in Article 8, Paragraph 1 of the Act Governing Food Safety
and Sanitation.
 
The competent authority at each level shall supervise and
assist educational institutions as they establish food
hygiene self-management mechanisms and put in place their
own practical implementation and management of related
checks. Educational institutions shall inspect their
dining facilities at least once a week and record the
results. The records shall be kept for three years.
 
The competent education authority at each level shall
collaborate with the competent agriculture and health
authorities to conduct regular food hygiene inspections of
educational institutions randomly selected at least once
each year, and the competent agriculture authority or
competent health authority shall perform checks of the
hygiene, safety, and quality of their randomly sampled
foods.
 
The regulations governing the scope, methods, inspections,
and any other matters that are to be undertaken pertaining
to the management, supervision, and assistance referred to
in Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 4 respectively, shall be
prescribed by the central competent authority in
conjunction with the central competent health authority.
  
Article 23   
Schools that provide meals shall provide healthy, safe,
and nutritionally balanced foods that satisfy the School
Lunch Content and Nutrition Criteria determined by the
central competent authority and are in compliance with the
Dietary Reference Intakes established by the central health
competent authority and shall provide nutrition education
that is supervised and undertaken by dietitians.
 
Schools that provide meals shall offer a vegetarian meal
choice.
 
The schools referred to in Paragraph 1 shall give priority
to using quality local agricultural products accredited by
the central competent agricultural authority for the meals
that they provide and are prohibited from using raw and
fresh foods that contain genetically modified ingredients
or primary products made with them.

Article 23-1  
Schools at the senior secondary and lower levels with 40
classes or more shall have at least one dietitian on staff.
Each county and city competent authority shall determine
the number of dietitians for each school within its
jurisdiction.
   
The duties of the school dietitian referred to in the
preceding paragraph are to:
1.Oversee and assist with food hygiene and safety.
2.Implement management of meals.
3.Implement healthy eating education.
4.Provide nutrition guidance for the entire school.
5.Look after individual nutritional care cases.

Article 23-2  
Each municipal and county (city) government shall form a
School Lunch Advisory Council that is responsible for
setting standards, advising, assessing schools’
school-lunch related operations, and giving associated
awards and incentives, or penalties.

Schools at the senior secondary and lower levels that serve
lunch shall establish a School Lunch Council or an
organization of the same nature; its composition, the
selection of its members, and the principles governing
supplies and conflict of interest shall be determined by
each relevant competent authority. Parents of current
students shall account for at least one-fourth of the
members.

The competent authority shall provide subsidies for junior
high schools and elementary schools to establish kitchens,
and shall provide subsidies for schools at the senior
secondary and lower levels that are located in mountainous,
remote, or outlying island areas to operate a lunch program
that is needed because of their location, and shall
collaborate with the competent agricultural authorities
with regard to the supply of local ingredients. The
regulations governing such subsidies shall be determined by
the competent authority. The central competent authority
shall regularly collaborate with municipal and county (city)
governments to review the operation of school lunch
programs and send personnel to undertake on-site
inspections. The way the review will be conducted, the
specific items to be reviewed, and the number of schools to
be reviewed shall be determined through joint consultation
by the competent authority in consultation with the
municipal and county (city) governments.


Article 24
Schools at the senior high school or lower level shall
impose a complete smoking ban; and may not sell tobacco,
alcohol, betel nut, and other substances that are harmful
to physical and mental health.

Article 25
Schools shall formulate a plan to implement building,
equipment, and facilities safety and environmental health
inspections at scheduled times each semester, and shall
maintain teaching and sports and play equipment, and
facilities at all times, and prior to the start of each
semester, shall undertake a thorough inspection and do any
necessary repairs.
 
Article 26
The competent authority at each level and schools shall
itemize annual school health-related and healthcare
funding, and the designated funding shall be specifically
used for related expenses.
 
Article 27
The competent authority at each level shall conduct
evaluation of the health-related work of schools within
their respective jurisdiction. Schools with an outstanding
performance shall be given rewards and incentives. Schools
that undertake school health-related work badly shall be
ordered to make improvements within a specified time, and
any such school that fails to do so within the specified
time, or in which there are significant shortcomings, shall
be the subject of disciplinary action being taken by the
competent authority.

Article 28
The enforcement rules of this Act shall be determined by
the central competent authority.

Article 29
This act shall be effective from the date of promulgation.