“Making the Grade? An Analysis of State and Federal Children’s Vision Care Policy,” is available from the Vision Council of America.
Undiagnosed and untreated vision problems in children can lead to permanent vision loss and learning difficulties, yet 19 states currently require no preventive vision care for school-age children, concludes a report.
The report, released by the Alexandria, Va.-based Vision Council of America, takes a close look at state and federal efforts to prevent vision problems in children. The report also found that 29 of the 31 states that do require a vision screening do not mandate a follow-up eye exam for children who fail the screening. Only one state—Kentucky—requires all children to receive an eye exam by an eye doctor before entering elementary school, according to the report.