House Study Bill 673 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES BILL BY CHAIRPERSON SMITH) A BILL FOR An Act providing for vision screenings for certain students, 1 and including applicability provisions. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 6017HC (1) 83 ak/nh

H.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 135.39D Student vision screening. 1 1. a. School districts and accredited nonpublic schools 2 shall provide vision screenings to all students entering 3 kindergarten and grades one, three, six, and nine; transfer 4 students; and students referred by a parent, guardian, or 5 teacher for screening as provided in this section. 6 b. A school district or accredited nonpublic school shall 7 provide a vision screening for a student beginning a school 8 year in kindergarten within sixty days of the first day the 9 student begins school. 10 c. A student is excused from the vision screening if a 11 parent or guardian presents school officials with documentation 12 of a student’s comprehensive eye examination performed by a 13 licensed ophthalmologist or licensed optometrist within the 14 past twelve months. School officials shall retain a copy of 15 the results of the student’s eye examination. 16 2. a. School personnel shall retain each student’s vision 17 screening results and provide each student’s parent or guardian 18 with the results and any follow-up recommendations for vision 19 correction or care as necessary. 20 b. The parent or guardian of a student who demonstrates 21 during the vision screening specific visual problems, as 22 identified by the department of public health, shall cause 23 the student to undergo a comprehensive eye examination by a 24 licensed ophthalmologist or licensed optometrist within six 25 months and provide documentation of the examination to the 26 appropriate school official. 27 c. If a parent or guardian fails to provide documentation 28 that the required follow-up examination has occurred, school 29 officials shall notify the parent or guardian in writing of the 30 current student vision screening and examination requirements 31 as established by law and also notify the department of public 32 health. 33 d. School officials shall not prohibit a student from 34 attending school due to the failure of a parent or guardian 35 -1- LSB 6017HC (1) 83 ak/nh 1/ 5

H.F. _____ to provide documentation of the student’s comprehensive eye 1 examination. 2 3. Area education agencies, pursuant to section 273.3, 3 shall make every effort to provide, in collaboration with 4 local community organizations, vision screening services to 5 children ages two through four. The area education agencies 6 and the organizations providing the vision screenings shall 7 notify the parent or guardian of the child if a comprehensive 8 eye examination by a licensed ophthalmologist or licensed 9 optometrist is recommended. 10 4. a. A licensed ophthalmologist, licensed optometrist, 11 licensed physician, or certified vision screener shall conduct 12 vision screenings required by this section. A certified 13 vision screener is an individual trained in vision screening 14 techniques within the past three years and certified by 15 the department of public health. The department of public 16 health, in cooperation with the department of education, shall 17 establish vision screening training standards. 18 b. The department of public health shall approve vision 19 screening techniques and protocols recommended by a nationally 20 recognized organization such as the American academy of 21 pediatrics, the American academy of ophthalmology, or the 22 national eye institute. 23 5. The department of public health, in cooperation with the 24 department of education, shall adopt rules to administer this 25 section. The department of public health shall submit a report 26 to the general assembly by January 1, annually, regarding 27 student vision screenings results for the most recently 28 completed school year. The first report, due January 1, 2013, 29 shall include an assessment by the department about whether a 30 source of financial assistance for parents and guardians would 31 increase compliance with required follow-up comprehensive eye 32 examinations. 33 Sec. 2. Section 280.7A, Code 2009, is repealed June 30, 34 2011. 35 -2- LSB 6017HC (1) 83 ak/nh 2/ 5

H.F. _____ Sec. 3. STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED. In accordance 1 with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring 2 compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall 3 be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid 4 received by the school district under section 257.16. This 5 specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed 6 to meet all the state funding-related requirements of section 7 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding shall 8 be necessary for the full implementation of this Act by and 9 enforcement of this Act against all affected school districts. 10 Sec. 4. APPLICABILITY DATE. This Act applies to school 11 years beginning on or after July 1, 2011. 12 EXPLANATION 13 This bill establishes vision screenings for students who 14 are at specific grade levels, who are referred, or who are 15 transferring schools to be provided by school districts and 16 accredited nonpublic schools. 17 Every student beginning in kindergarten shall receive a 18 vision screening within 60 days of starting the school year. 19 A student is excused from a vision screening if a parent 20 or guardian presents school officials documentation that 21 the student received an eye exam within 12 months. School 22 officials are required to keep a copy of the eye exam results. 23 School personnel shall retain the results of students’ 24 vision screenings and inform parents and guardians of the 25 results. A student who demonstrates specific visual problems 26 during the screening will be required to have a comprehensive 27 eye exam by a licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist within 28 six months. A parent or guardian is required to provide school 29 officials with documentation of the exam. 30 A parent or guardian who fails to provide documentation 31 of the required eye exam shall be notified in writing of 32 the current student vision requirements under law and the 33 department of public health (DPH) shall be informed. A student 34 shall not be prohibited from attending school due to the 35 -3- LSB 6017HC (1) 83 ak/nh 3/ 5

H.F. _____ failure of a parent or guardian to provide documentation of a 1 required eye exam. 2 Area education agencies, in collaboration with community 3 organizations, shall provide vision screening services to 4 children ages two through four. 5 Licensed medical personnel or certified vision screeners 6 must provide the vision screenings. Vision screenings shall 7 be provided using techniques and protocols approved by DPH, 8 as established by nationally recognized organizations with 9 expertise in vision screening. 10 DPH, in cooperation with the department of education, is 11 required to adopt rules regarding the requirements of this new 12 Code section. DPH shall submit an annual report to the general 13 assembly by January 1, regarding the vision screening results. 14 The first report is due January 1, 2013. The report shall 15 include an assessment about compliance with required follow-up 16 eye exams and whether financial assistance would increase 17 compliance. 18 Code section 280.7A, which is the current statute about 19 student eye care, is repealed June 30, 2011. The current law 20 provides that a parent or guardian receive a student vision 21 card when a child registers for preschool or kindergarten with 22 the goal of every child receiving an eye exam by age seven. 23 Current law also provides that school districts may encourage 24 the receipt of eye exams by students receiving special 25 education services. 26 The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code 27 section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of 28 any state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school 29 district from state school foundation aid received by the 30 school district under Code section 257.16. The specification 31 is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state mandate 32 funding-related requirements of Code section 25B.2. The 33 inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate the 34 requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any state 35 -4- LSB 6017HC (1) 83 ak/nh 4/ 5

H.F. _____ mandates included in the bill. 1 The bill applies to school years beginning on or after July 2 1, 2011. 3 -5- LSB 6017HC (1) 83 ak/nh 5/ 5