Schools’ Intrusive Form Is Scrapped : Education: Lancaster district stops using it after a parent complains. Questionnaire covered length of labor, use of anesthesia during birth.

When Janelle Smith began filling out the enrollment forms for her children’s new elementary school in Lancaster, she suspected something was wrong.

Why would a school need to know how long her labor lasted? Whether she gave birth with or without anesthesia? Whether she’d had a Cesarean section? If the child was bottle-fed or breast-fed?

In fact, the school--and the district--didn’t need to know.

When Smith protested, Lancaster school district officials were appalled. They say they didn’t know about the form and had never received a complaint besides Smith’s. Her calls triggered an investigation and the school district sent out a memo this week ordering its 15 schools to destroy the questionnaires.

“We certainly don’t need to ask these questions,” said Ned McNabb, the district’s director of pupil personnel. “They are intrusive and inappropriate.”

McNabb said Lancaster district officials never authorized the form and he has no idea how long it has been used. In its memo to schools, the district said the form had been used for many years and admitted that it asked for unnecessary information.

In bold letters, the memo said: “Please discontinue the use of the current Health History form upon receipt of this memo. Have your staff remove it from packets that have been prepared for new enrollees. Dispose of any stock that is on your shelves.”

McNabb said he is surprised that only one parent complained about the so-called Health History questionnaire being used in the 13,000-student district. “I’m surprised that more parents didn’t raise holy heck,” he said.

The one-page form, one of several required when a child is enrolled, asks parents questions about the child’s medical history, illnesses and developmental stages. It asks about vaccinations and the child’s early history, such as when the child first walked and was toilet trained.

Other districts, including Los Angeles Unified, require physicians to complete health forms that may ask, among other things, questions regarding a child’s birth weight and whether there were any other prenatal or neonatal complications. The parent must sign the form before the information is released to the schools.

District officials say they request such information to help them analyze any special problems the child may have. Parents who complain about that section of the form are told to ignore it, an official said.

But when Smith, who ultimately enrolled her two children at Lancaster’s Nancy Cory Elementary School, saw the questions she balked.

“These are personal questions. Would I ask the principal if he had a vasectomy? It’s just none of their business,” Smith said.

The form asked parents to complete the birth and pregnancy section if the child was entering kindergarten for the first time. It directed parents to specify whether the delivery was vaginal, breech or Cesarean, and whether the mother used Lamaze breathing techniques or anesthesia.

Smith also said she objected to questions asking whether the child had a bed-wetting problem.

The district is revising the form and will use the new version if more detailed information is needed by school health officials. The district already requires parents to complete an emergency card including information about health problems.