| Passed by the House April 18, 2005 Yeas 94 ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate April 6, 2005 Yeas 48 ________________________________________ President of the Senate | I, Richard Nafziger, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1951 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Chief Clerk | |
| Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
| State of Washington | 59th Legislature | 2005 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 03/07/05.
AN ACT Relating to vision exams for school-aged children; and creating new sections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature finds that:
(1) Vision is one of the primary senses used in the early learning
process;
(2) Vision problems affecting preschool and school-age children can
impact a child's ability to learn;
(3) Economically disadvantaged children have less access to health
care and therefore, may have a proportionally greater likelihood of
having undiagnosed vision problems that may affect their ability to
learn;
(4) Vision problems in young children can be misinterpreted as
neurodevelopmental delay or as learning disabilities; and
(5) Current screening for visual acuity at distance is insufficient
to detect all vision defects.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 (1) The department of health shall convene
a work group to reevaluate visual screening of children in public
schools and make any recommendations regarding changes to the rules.
In developing its recommendations, the work group shall, at a minimum:
(a) Consider the benefits of complete eye exams on public school
children;
(b) Consider when visual screening, complete eye exams, or both
should take place in preschool or kindergarten through high school in
order to ensure children are best prepared for the learning
environment; and
(c) Consider what screening techniques would be appropriate in a
school setting.
(2) In developing the recommendations, the department of health
shall consult with the office of the superintendent of public
instruction, the state board of health, the optometric physicians of
Washington, and the Washington academy of eye physicians and surgeons.
(3) The work group shall make a preliminary report to the
legislature and the state board of health by December 1, 2005. The
work group shall make final recommendations to the legislature and to
the state board of health by December 1, 2006.
(4) If specific funding for this act is not referenced by bill or
chapter number in the biennial omnibus appropriations act by June 30,
2005, this act is null and void.