Senate Bill No. 188
(By Senators Bailey, Edgell, Caldwell, Unger, Boley, Rowe,
Minard, White, Kessler, McKenzie and Bowman)
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[Introduced January 21, 2003; referred to the Committee on
Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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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 requiring certain comprehensive vision
examinations for school admission; notice of requirement;
rule; and providing methods for children of limited means to
obtain the comprehensive vision examination.
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 state director of
health shall promptly provide parents of the newborn child with
information on the vision examination required by 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, the parent or guardian of any child entering school for the
first time in this state 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)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)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 that
children of families of limited means can 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.
(e)Any funding made available to the state board for the
purposes set forth in this subsection shall be utilized 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 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.
(f)Nothing in this section requires any level of funding or
appropriation by the Legislature.
NOTE: The purposes of this bill are to require students to
receive an age appropriate comprehensive vision examination as a
condition of being admitted to school and to provide a mechanism
for children of limited means to obtain the age appropriate
comprehensive vision examination. This bill was recommended by
Education Subcommittee B of the Joint Standing Committee on
Education.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.