Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Child Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
State education official reports 35% follow-up exam rate in 2018–19 K–12 vision screenings
Summary
The Department of Education presented the 2018–19 vision screening report showing a 35% follow-up exam rate for students who were referred after screenings; most confirmed problems were refractive and the department will provide available breakdowns to the committee.
Sheree McDonald presented the Department of Education's 2018 19 vision screening report for pre-K through 12th grade, describing the number screened, referred and the follow-up exams. "It does show that it continues to be a 35 percent follow-up exam rate for our kids in schools," McDonald said.
Committee members asked why the follow-up rate is low. McDonald explained the process: school nurses rescreen and typically send reports home, but it is ultimately the parent who takes a child for a comprehensive eye exam; she said most confirmed problems are refractive errors and that available programs (including pro bono and charitable resources) can help with costs for glasses or exams. McDonald said additional breakdowns of who received optometrist/ophthalmologist exams versus other follow-up could be provided to committee staff.
Representative Brown and other members asked for help reading the report's table; McDonald walked through the figures and confirmed that of 998 referrals noted in the table, 389 received an exam and of those, a share were confirmed to have a vision difficulty while others were confirmed normal on exam.
Why it matters: Vision problems detected in school screening can affect learning if not followed up; a 35 percent follow-up exam rate indicates many referred students did not obtain a comprehensive exam after screening.
Next steps: McDonald agreed to provide a breakdown of follow-up exam types and results to committee staff for distribution to legislators.
