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N.C. mandatory childrens vision exam law suspended
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Mandatory eye exam legislation in North Carolina has been put on hold pending a determination by the state legislature regarding whether the law should be repealed.
Senate Bill 622 had been included as part of North Carolina’s budget bill and was slated to take effect in August. However, opposition from school boards, pediatricians, ophthalmologists and Prevent Blindness America has culminated in a lawsuit deeming the legislation “unconstitutional” and a subsequent injunction of the law.
“It’s a bit worrisome and frankly unbelievable to me that people as educated as these groups could not see the value of preschool eye exams,” said North Carolina State Optometric Society (NCSOS) President Harold C. Herring Jr., OD.
“Back in 1995 a task force of optometrists, ophthalmologists and pediatricians convened by the state agreed that eye exams were the best way to prevent amblyopia and other vision problems in children,” said Dr. Herring. “We can’t understand why everyone is up in arms about this law. We have an opportunity to virtually eliminate preventable amblyopia in North Carolina by having this law in place.”
School board: law is “unconstitutional”
Dr. Herring said the state Board of Education cited the constitutional right of every child to have a free public education. Because SB 622 required eye exams as a condition for enrollment, the school board deemed it “unconstitutional.”
The board subsequently fought the legislation by filing a lawsuit, Dr. Herring said. While that lawsuit has not been ruled upon, the judge has issued an injunction to suspend the law until July 2007.
“The injunction is to give the legislature time to review the law and decide whether to keep it, amend it or repeal it,” he said. “The school boards say that if the legislature does not repeal it, then they will proceed with their lawsuit. They have currently put the lawsuit on hold pending the decision of the legislature.”
Therefore, Dr. Herring said, the mandatory children’s vision legislation will not be enforced until at least July 2007.
“Of course, all of this is in the face of conclusive evidence that mandatory eye exams are very effective and cost-effective, identifying children at risk for amblyopia,” he said.
Optometry’s reaction
Dr. Herring said the suspension of the law is obviously very disappointing to the NCSOS. “The purpose of the people who have brought this suit is to improve educational opportunities for children,” he said. “Yet, in all cases, all of these people and organizations have agreed that mandatory preschool eye examinations are an ‘unnecessary expense.’”
He said, in terms of the value of such exams, the numbers speak for themselves. “The incidence of preventable amblyopia is between 3% and 7%,” he said. “Those are the children who have been missed in the screening process and, therefore, have suffered permanent vision loss.”
However, despite this information, it appears as though the opposition groups are determined to defeat the legislation, Dr. Herring said. “It looks like the law is going to be suspended and scrutinized, and repealed, if possible,” he said.
He said it is also important that the legislators understand that this is a nationwide initiative, not one generated only by North Carolina optometrists.
“We’re trying to emphasize the fact that mandatory preschool eye exams are not a North Carolina issue; they are a nationwide issue,” he said. “Our effort as optometrists is to speak to our legislators and give them information about the merits of the law. Hopefully, they will see that the beneficiaries of the law are the children of North Carolina.”
For more information:
- Harold C. Herring Jr., OD, is president of the North Carolina State Optometric Society. He can be reached at PO Box 648, Fairmont, NC 28340; (910) 678-8316; fax: (910) 628-5642; e-mail: halherring@yahoo.com.