An Act
ENROLLED SENATE
BILL NO. 1319 By: Seifried of the Senate
and
Newton of the House
An Act relating to vision screenings; creating the
Public School Vision Screening Modernization
Revolving Fund; specifying type of fund and sources
of monies; providing for expenditure of funds for
certain purposes; authorizing the State Department of
Health to award grants for certain purposes;
requiring submission of certain annual report;
amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1210.284, as amended
by Section 1, Chapter 11 2, O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp.
2023, Section 1210.284), which relates to public
school vision screenings; requiring certain standards
to permit use of electronic eye chart; defining term;
requiring electronic eye chart to meet certain
standards and guidelin es; directing the Department to
maintain certain platform and data management system
subject to available funding; requiring certain
sharing of information; updating statutory language;
providing for codification; providing an effective
date; and declaring an emergency.
SUBJECT: Vision screenings
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1 -114.21 of Title 63, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
There is hereby created in the State Treasury a revolving fund
for the State Department of Health to be designated the “Public
ENR. S. B. NO. 1319 Page 2
School Vision Screening Modernization Revolving Fund ”. The fund
shall be a continuing fund, not subject to fiscal year limitations,
and shall consist of all monies deposited to the credit of the fund
by law or from private funds donated for one or both of the purposes
listed in this section. All monies accruing to the credit of the
fund are hereby appropriated and may be budgeted and expended by the
State Department of Health for the following purposes:
1. Awarding grants to public schools as provided by Section 2
of this act; and
2. Collection of necessary vision screening data including, but
not limited to, through the cloud -based platform and data management
system described in Section 1210.284 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma
Statutes.
Expenditures from the fund shall be made upon warrants issued by
the State Treasurer agains t claims filed as prescribed by law with
the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services for
approval and payment.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1 -114.22 of Title 63, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. The State Department of Health may award grants to public
schools from the Public School Vision Screening Modernization
Revolving Fund created in Section 1 of this act for the purpose of
assisting public schools in obtaining vision screening equipment,
collecting vision screening data, and obtaining related services to
fulfill the requirements of Section 1210.284 of Title 70 of the
Oklahoma Statutes.
B. The State Department of Health shall electronically submit
an annual report on all grants awarded under this section to the
President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, and the Governor by January 15 of each year.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1210.284, as
amended by Section 1, Chapter 112, O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp. 2023,
Section 1210.284), is amended to read as follows:
ENR. S. B. NO. 1319 Page 3
Section 1210.284. A. 1. The parent or guardian of each
student enrolled in kindergarten at a public school in this state
shall provide certification to school personnel that the student
passed a vision screening within the previous twelve (12) months or
during the school year. Such screening shall be conducted by
personnel listed on the statewide registry as maintained by the
State Department of Health, which may include, but not be limited
to, Oklahoma licensed optometrists and ophthalmologists.
2. The parent or guardian of each student enrolled in first or
third grade at a public school in this state shall provide within
thirty (30) days of the beginning of the school year certification
to school personnel that the student passed a vision screening
within the previous twelve (12) months. Such screening shall be
conducted by personnel listed on the statewide registry as
maintained by the State Department of Health; provided, Oklahoma
licensed optometrists and ophthalmologists shall be exempt from such
standards.
3. The parent or guardian of each student who receives a v ision
screening as required by this section shall receive notification
that a vision screening is not the equivalent of a comprehensive eye
exam.
B. 1. The Infant and Children ’s Health Advisory Council
created in Section 1 -103a.1 of Title 63 of the Okla homa Statutes
shall make recommendations to the State Board Commissioner of Health
on:
a. standards for vision screening and referral; provided,
Oklahoma licensed optometrists and ophthalmologists
shall be exempt from such standards,
b. qualifications for initial recognition and renewal of
recognition of vision screeners,
c. qualifications for initial recognition and renewal of
recognition of vision screener trainers,
d. qualifications for initial recognition and renewal of
recognition of trainers of vi sion screener trainers;
provided, Oklahoma licensed optometrists and
ENR. S. B. NO. 1319 Page 4
ophthalmologists shall be exempt from any training
requirements, and
e. grounds for denial, refusal, suspension or revocation
of recognition of vision screeners, vision screener
trainers and trainers of vision screener trainers.
2. The Department shall:
a. establish and thereafter maintain a statewide
registry, available via the Internet, which shall
contain a list of approved vision screeners,
b. maintain a list of approved vision sc reener trainers
and trainers of vision screener trainers, and
c. maintain the standards for vision screening and
referral. Such standards shall permit the use of an
electronic eye chart as a substitute for a printed eye
chart to assess relative visual ac uity. As used in
this subparagraph, “electronic eye chart ” means any
computerized or other electronic system, device,
automated computer program, or method of displaying on
an electronic screen medically accepted and properly
sized optotypes, which may be letters, numbers, or
symbols, that is used to assess an individual ’s visual
acuity. An electronic eye chart shall meet national
standards of care and shall meet the guidelines
established by the 2016 version, or most recent
version if updated, of the Pro cedures for the
Evaluation of the Visual System by Pediatricians
produced by the American Academy of Pediatrics , and
d. subject to availability of funds, maintain a cloud -
based platform and data management system that is
compliant with the Health Insuranc e Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 and the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 to collect individual
student screening results from each school district,
manage and report on compliance, and act as an
analytical platform for screeni ng outcomes. The State
Department of Education shall share vision screening
ENR. S. B. NO. 1319 Page 5
results and any other relevant information with the
State Department of Health for the purpose of
implementing this subparagraph. The agencies shall
enter into an interagency agr eement for the sharing of
information as provided by this subparagraph .
3. After notice and hearing, the Department State Department of
Health may deny, refuse, suspend or revoke approval to an applicant
who has a history of:
a. noncompliance or incompl ete or partial compliance with
the provisions of this section or the rules adopted by
the Board Commissioner to implement the provisions of
this section,
b. referring persons to a business in which the applicant
has a financial interest or a business whic h is owned
or operated by someone within the third degree of
consanguinity or affinity of the applicant, or
c. conduct which demonstrates that the applicant is
providing services in a manner which does not warrant
public trust.
4. The Board Commissioner, giving consideration to the
recommendations of the Council, shall promulgate rules to implement
the provisions of this section.
C. 1. The parent or guardian of each student who fails the
vision screening required in subsection A of this section shall
receive a recommendation to undergo a comprehensive eye examination
performed by an ophthalmologist or optometrist.
2. The ophthalmologist or optometrist shall forward a written
report of the results of the comprehensive eye examination to the
student’s school, parent or guardian, and primary health care
provider designated by the parent or guardian. The report shall
include, but not be limited to:
a. date of report,
b. name, address and date of birth of the student,
ENR. S. B. NO. 1319 Page 6
c. name of the student’s school,
d. type of examination,
e. a summary of significant findings, including
diagnoses, medication used, duration of action of
medication, treatment, prognosis, whether or not a
return visit is recommended and, if so , when,
f. recommended educational adjustme nts for the child, if
any, which may include: preferential seating in the
classroom, eyeglasses for full -time use in school,
eyeglasses for part-time use in school, sight -saving
eyeglasses, and any other recommendations, and
g. name, address and signatur e of the examiner.
D. No student shall be prohibited from attending school for a
parent’s or guardian’s failure to furnish a report of the student ’s
vision screening or an examiner ’s failure to furnish the results of
a student’s comprehensive eye examina tion required by this section.
E. School districts shall notify parents or guardians of
students who enroll in kindergarten, first, or third grade for the
2007-08 school year and each year thereafter of the requirements of
this section.
F. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for the
implementation of this section except as provided in subsection B of
this section. The State Department of Education shall issue a
report annually on the impact and effectiveness of this section.
SECTION 4. This act shall become effective July 1, 2024.
SECTION 5. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall ta ke effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
ENR. S. B. NO. 1319 Page 7
Passed the Senate the 29th day of May, 2024.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
Passed the House of Representatives the 30th day of May, 2024.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this _______ _____________
day of _________________ __, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _______ __
day of _________________ __, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __ ________
day of _________________ _, 20 _______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________