Vision care and the education reform

The central focus of the education reform in the United States is to prepare children for college through the "Make College a Reality" initiative. Untreated visual impairment is one factor that may interfere with children's ability to enter college since such impairment has been associated with decreased academic achievement and high school dropout. The presentation begins with a discussion of the genetic, racial/ethnic, and environmental factors associated with visual impairment. It describes current Department of Education guidelines for the vision screening of children. It presents case studies regarding the use of professional versus school vision screening in school-aged children in different U.S. states. The presentation depicts proposed legislation to increase vision care among school-aged children. It evaluates intervention approaches to improve the vision health of children in other nations. The presentation proposes education policy solutions to increasing vision care and adherence to vision care recommendations in school-aged children. The emphasis is on reform through coordination involving different parties since vision care issues are affected by child, family, peer, school, and provider determinants.