COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 188
(By Senators Bailey, Edgell, Caldwell, Unger, Boley, Rowe,
Minard, White, Kessler, McKenzie and Bowman)
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[Originating in the Committee on Education;
reported February 27, 2003.]
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A BILL to amend article five, chapter eighteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated section forty-six,
relating to allowing each county board to require certain
comprehensive vision examinations for school admission; notice
of requirement; rule; providing methods for children of
limited means to obtain the comprehensive vision examination;
and religious exemption.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article five, chapter eighteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
forty-six, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-46. Early comprehensive vision examination.
(a) Whenever a resident birth occurs, the department of health
and human resources shall promptly provide parents of the newborn
child with information on the vision examination that may be
required pursuant to this section, in conjunction with the
information so provided regarding compulsory immunizations
prescribed in section four, article three, chapter sixteen of this
code.
(b) Effective with the school year beginning two thousand
three, any county board may require that the parent or guardian of
each child entering school for the first time in the district shall
present a document prepared by a licensed optometrist or
ophthalmologist that:
(1)Certifies that the child has undergone an age appropriate
comprehensive vision examination;
(2)Indicates any diagnosis made;
(3)Indicates any treatments administered; and
(4)Indicates any recommendations for further treatment.
(c)In any district requiring an age appropriate
comprehensive vision examination pursuant to this section, a
provisional admission shall be granted to any child lacking the
required documentation to allow for completion of the examination.
A provisional admission is valid for four calendar months.
(d) In any district requiring an age appropriate comprehensive
vision examination pursuant to this section, the county board shall
develop a plan for helping children of families of limited means meet the examination requirement.
(e)The state board, in conjunction with the bureau for
medical services of the department of health and human resources
and the children?s health insurance program of the department of
administration, shall compile and maintain a list of sources to
which families of limited means refer to for obtaining an age
appropriate comprehensive vision examination and for obtaining any
recommended treatment for any diagnosis made during an age
appropriate comprehensive vision examination. The sources may
include individuals, federal, state and local governments, and
private programs. The state board shall ensure that the principal
of each school and the school nurse or other person responsible for
school health services receive an updated copy of the list each
year prior to school opening. Professional and service
organizations concerned with vision health may assist in gathering
and disseminating the information at the direction of the state
board.
(f)Any funding made available to the state board for the
purposes set forth in this subsection shall be used for helping
needy children obtain age appropriate comprehensive vision
examinations. A parent or guardian of a child who needs the vision
examination in order to be admitted to school, in a district
requiring each child to receive an age appropriate comprehensive
vision examination pursuant to this section, may apply to the state
board for aid in paying for the vision examination. The state
board shall promulgate a rule pursuant to article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the provisions of this
subsection. The rule shall include at least the following:
(1)The eligibility criteria for receiving the aid;
(2)A requirement that the parents or guardians of the
children seeking aid exhaust the support from other sources
generated by the process set forth in subsection (b) of this
section before receiving the aid set forth in this subsection; and
(3)A limit on the amount that may be paid under this
subsection for an age appropriate comprehensive vision examination
that is equal to the amount set forth in the medicaid fee schedule
established by the commissioner of the bureau for medical services.
(g) The documentation set forth in subsection (b) of this
section may not be required if the parent or guardian of the child
entering school submits a signed statement to the county
superintendent, or his or her designee, stating that the parent or
guardian has received information from the department of health and
human resources as required by subsection (a) of this section,
understands the benefits of the age appropriate comprehensive
vision examination and that, due to religious beliefs, the parent
or guardian does not consent to the vision examination of the child
entering school.
(h)Nothing in this section requires any level of funding or
appropriation by the Legislature.