School Physicals: What’s Required for Illinois Students in 2024

It’s time to make a list and start crossing things off for going back to school in Champaign-Urbana

It may seem a little too early to start talking about children heading back to school. We get it, but there is no better time than the summer to take care of those back-to-school demands.

Check out our entire Back to School Series, presented by Christie Clinic:

Thank you to Christie Clinic for presenting our 2024 Champaign-Urbana Area Back to School series

Christie Clinic wants you to give your kids a healthy start to the school year. Parents can currently make back-to-school appointments for their children through their patient portal or by using online scheduling at christieclinic.com.

Please contact the department for evening or weekend school physical appointment availability.

Find more information about school physicals here.

Requirements for physicals vary based on what grade your child is entering. Here’s what you’ll need to know about school physicals to get your child ready for the 2024-25 school year. Your doctor will likely have a copy of the Illinois physical form at your appointment, or you can access it here.

Who needs a school physical?

1) Is your family new to the state of Illinois? Regardless of how old your child is, all students new to Illinois schools must turn in a completed physical examination prior to entering Illinois schools for the first time.

2) Children entering the following grades: early childhood, kindergarten or first grade (if the first year in school), sixth grade, and ninth grade.

3) Children attending school programs where grade levels are not assigned: before entering the school years in which the child reaches the ages of 5, 11, and 15.

It should be noted that a child’s sports physical (designed to meet IESA or IHSA requirements for playing school sports) does not meet the sixth or ninth grade physical exam requirements. However, the reverse is acceptable — in other words, the required physical exam can satisfy the requirement for a sixth- or ninth-grader’s sports physical. When in doubt, check with your physician or your school district about what forms your student will need.

Looking ahead, the state of Illinois has amended Public Act 099-0927 to include “age-appropriate social, emotional, and developmental screenings” to the required physical exam. Any child health exam that occurs after January 1, 2025, for the school year of 2025-26, must utilize an updated child health exam form that records these screenings.

When is the deadline for my child’s physical?

The deadline for physicals varies by district so be sure to check with your child’s school if you are new to the district or new to Illinois. State law requires the exclusion of students who do not have either the health exam or required vaccines “upon enrollment but no later than Oct. 15” or an earlier date established by the board of an individual district.

In the Champaign Unit 4 school district, for example, all physical and immunization forms for the 2024-25 school year must be submitted by Sept. 1, 2024. The Urbana School District 116 will not allow your student to start the school year without the required physical and immunization forms on file.

If your child has had a physical recently, check with your pediatrician’s office to get the right forms. The exam must be completed no earlier than a year (365 days) prior to the start of attendance at an Illinois school. (Need a pediatrician? Check out our reader recommendations.)

If you haven’t yet made an appointment for your child’s physical, you might want to do so as soon as possible as area providers expect to be busy during the summer months.

Where can we get school physicals?

If your child does not have a regular healthcare provider, community groups often schedule opportunities for children to receive back-to-school-related healthcare during the summer. We will add these here (and also to our Event Calendar) as we find out about them.

Upcoming school physical events in Champaign-Urbana

No Events

Community health resources

Urbana School Health Center (1002 S. Race Street, adjacent to UHS): A partnership between Promise Healthcare and the Urbana School District. USHC offers physicals, vaccines, health exams, and other primary care needs; basic dental services including school dental exams; counseling services. Open to all.
Rantoul School Health Center (400 E Wabash Ave, Rantoul, on the J.W. Eater Junior High School campus): A new partnership between Promise Healthcare and the Rantoul City Schools District 137, dedicated on May 21, 2024. The clinic will offer primary medical, psychiatry and counseling services to all.
Promise Healthcare (locations in Champaign and Urbana): As a Federally Qualified Health Center, Promise provides access to affordable, quality healthcare to residents of all ages in Champaign, Urbana, Rantoul, Mahomet and all of Champaign County. In May 2024 Promise Healthcare announced receipt of an IDPH grant to help develop a school-based health center for Champaign Unit 4 schools.
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (Main Office at 201 W. Kenyon Rd., Champaign)
Community Health Partnership of Illinois (201 W. Kenyon Road, Champaign): Community Health Partnership of Illinois (CHP) serves all, including the uninsured, underserved, migrants, seasonal agricultural workers and their families across rural and urban communities in northern and central Illinois.