Florida Senate - 2013 SB 614 By Senator Garcia 38-01136-13 2013614__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to vision screening of preschool 3 students; amending s. 381.0056, F.S.; providing a 4 definition; requiring district school boards to 5 conduct vision screenings on students entering 6 prekindergarten or kindergarten; requiring 7 comprehensive eye examinations of students who fail to 8 pass the vision screenings; requiring licensed 9 optometrists and ophthalmologists to submit 10 examination results to school health personnel and the 11 student’s parent or guardian; authorizing the 12 Department of Health, in cooperation with the 13 Department of Education, to adopt rules necessary to 14 implement the vision screening requirements; providing 15 an effective date. 16 17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18 19 Section 1. Paragraph (g) is added to subsection (2) and 20 paragraph (f) is added to subsection (6) of section 381.0056, 21 Florida Statutes, and subsection (7) of that section is amended, 22 to read: 23 381.0056 School health services program.— 24 (2) As used in this section: 25 (g) “Vision screening” means an eye examination conducted 26 on a student entering prekindergarten or kindergarten as 27 required under paragraph (6)(f). 28 (6) The district school board shall: 29 (f) Within 30 days before the start of each school year, in 30 cooperation with the Department of Health, conduct vision 31 screenings of prekindergarten and kindergarten students. The 32 student’s parent or guardian may present to school health 33 personnel certification that the student has passed a vision 34 screening conducted by personnel that have been approved by the 35 Department of Health and trained in vision screening techniques. 36 For students who fail to pass the vision screening, a 37 comprehensive eye examination must be performed by a licensed 38 optometrist or ophthalmologist chosen by the student’s parent or 39 guardian. The licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist who 40 conducts the comprehensive examination shall forward a written 41 report of the examination results to school health personnel and 42 provide a copy of the report to the student’s parent or 43 guardian. The report shall indicate any pertinent diagnosis, 44 treatment, prognosis, recommendations, and evidence of followup 45 treatment, if necessary. 46 (7) The Department of Health, in cooperation with the 47 Department of Education, may adopt rules necessary to implement 48 this section. The rules may include standards and requirements 49 for developing school health services plans, conducting school 50 health screening, conducting vision screening, meeting emergency 51 health needs, maintaining school health records, and 52 coordinating with education programs for exceptional students. 53 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.