The Arkansas Commission on Eye and Vision Care of School-Aged Children established a new law that requires all children in the state to receive an enhanced vision screening by a school nurse. The enhanced vision screening will test distance and near visual acuity, lateral and vertical muscular balance, binocularity and color vision.

The commission, established in 2003, consists of 17 members, including optometrists, ophthalmologists, pediatricians, nurses and educators. The members evaluated Arkansas current vision-screening program and the effect of poor vision on school performance.

Based on their evaluations, the commission members wanted to propose comprehensive eye exams for school-aged children, but this idea was not financially feasible at the time, says optometrist Kenny Wyatt, who chaired the commission. So, they reworked the current school screening system and developed the enhanced vision-screening program. They plan to implement the new program in the 2006-2007 school year.

The new law requires children in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades one, two, four, six and eight, as well as students who transfer into the Arkansas public school system, to undergo the enhanced vision screening. The new law also requires that all schools in Arkansas own an up-to-date screening instrument and perform the same visual tests. Testing forms have also been standardized among all schools to improve record keeping.

The school nurse must rescreen children who fail the screening. If a child fails the screening a second time, he or she must be examined by an optometrist or ophthalmologist. If a professional examination is too expensive for parents, there are programs, implemented by the commission, that will help pay.

Dr. Wyatt expects that optometrists in Arkansas will examine many more children than previously because of this program. His message for other states that are considering improving their vision-screening programs: Rather than incurring the cost of implementing a new system, the commission did the best it could in trying to make the current system in Arkansas better and work for more children. Therefore, consider updating and improving your current screening program.