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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
103 |
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TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE DIRECTOR OF HEALTH, TO ESTABLISH A ONE-YEAR PILOT PROGRAM IN SELECTED PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ON THE WAIANAE COAST TO provide free eye examinations to children entering kindergarten, or any other ELEMENTARY grade level if entering the STATE public school system for the first time, with a view to SCREENING FOR EYE HEALTH, AND VISION PROBLEMS, AND ensuring that students are not erroneously diagnosed as having attention deficient hyperactivity disorder.
WHEREAS, the health and education of Hawaii's children are issues of paramount importance to the State; and
WHEREAS, the inability to see in order to read is a major barrier to successful learning; and
WHEREAS, vision is recognized as one of the areas in which timely identification of the problem and appropriate intervention are critical; and
WHEREAS, eye examinations for children at six months of age, age three, and age five have been widely recommended; and
WHEREAS, the goal of these examinations are two-fold:
(1) To identify children at as early an age as possible who are at risk for development of amblyopia or other eye health problems and to provide appropriate treatment; and
(2) To identify and correct vision problems that would hinder successful learning; and
WHEREAS, the incidence of children in public schools being diagnosed as suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has been increasing in recent years; and
WHEREAS, because attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has been legitimized as a medical condition, it has become a convenient diagnosis for which administering mood-altering drugs to children is a convenient solution; and
WHEREAS, in many cases, the apparent deficiency in attention span in very young children can often be traced to poor vision and not attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; and
WHEREAS, the administration of eye examinations by eyecare professionals to very young children in the public schools can fulfill the double goal of screening for eye health problems as well as ensuring that a child's failure to learn is not misdiagnosed as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder but is due to poor vision; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Superintendent of Education, with the assistance of the Director of Health, is requested to establish a one-year pilot program in selected public elementary schools on the Waianae Coast to provide free eye examinations to children entering kindergarten, or any other elementary grade level if entering the state public school system for the first time, with a view to screening for eye health and vision problems, and ensuring that students are not erroneously diagnosed as having attention deficient hyperactivity disorder; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Superintendent of Education is requested to:
(1) Select an appropriate number of elementary schools on the Waianae Coast to participate in the pilot program;
(2) Provide free eye examinations to at least two hundred students newly entering the state public school system at kindergarten through grade six, if the child does not have insurance coverage;
(3) Keep records of the results of eye examinations in a form that is not individually identifiable but that will assist the Department of Education in assessing the need for eye examinations on a statewide basis; and
(4) Provide appropriate treatment, including prescription eyeglasses, for tested children who do not have insurance coverage; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Superintendent of Education is requested to assess the results of the pilot program and report findings and recommendations, including any necessary proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2007; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education and the Director of Health.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Report Title:
Eye Examinations; Pilot Program; Waianae; Elementary Schools.