BILL ANALYSIS �
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1172
Author: Steinberg (D), et al.
Amended: 8/18/14
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/30/14
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Correa, Galgiani, Hancock, Hueso,
Huff, Monning
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/14
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SENATE FLOOR : 35-0, 5/27/14
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett, De
Le�n, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock,
Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara, Leno,
Lieu, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nielsen, Padilla, Pavley,
Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wolk, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Correa, Liu, Wright, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/25/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Pupil health: vision appraisals
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill deletes the existing vision screening
requirements and instead, requires, during the kindergarten year
or upon first enrollment or entry in a California school
district of a pupil at an elementary school, and in grades 2, 5,
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and 8, the pupil's vision to be appraised by the school nurse or
other authorized person.
Assembly Amendments require a pupil's vision may be appraised by
using an eye chart or any other scientifically validated
photoscreening test, as specified; requires continual and
regular observation of the pupil's eyes, appearance, behavior,
visual performance, and perception that may indicate vision
difficulties to be done by the school nurse and the classroom
teacher; states legislative finding that access to vision care
has been expanded with implementation of the federal Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act; add double jointing language
to avoid chaptering out provisions with AB 1840 (Campos); and
make various technical changes.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Requires school districts to provide for the testing of the
sight and hearing of each student enrolled in the district.
The test is to be given only by:
A. Duly qualified supervisors of health employed by the
school district.
B. Certificated employees of the school district or county
office of education who possess the qualifications
prescribed by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
C. Contract with an agency duly authorized to perform those
services by the county superintendent of schools, under
guidelines established by the State Board of Education.
D. Accredited schools or colleges or optometry, osteopathic
medicine, or medicine.
1.Provides that non-medical certificated employees of a school
district or county office of education may be authorized to
give vision tests if the employee has one of the following
documents:
A. A statement from a qualified supervisor of health that
the employee has satisfactorily completed an acceptable
course of in-service in techniques and procedures in vision
testing of at least six hours, and that the employee is
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qualified to administer vision tests to students.
B. A transcript from an accredited college or university
evidencing that the employee has successfully completed an
acceptable course in vision testing of at least one
semester unit.
1.Requires, upon first enrollment in an elementary school, and
at least every third year thereafter until the child has
completed grade 8, the vision of students to be appraised by
the school nurse or other authorized person. The evaluation
must include tests for visual acuity and color vision,
however, color vision is to be appraised once and only on male
students. Gross external observation of the child's eyes,
visual performance, and perception are to be done by the
school nurse and the classroom teacher. The evaluation may be
waived if the parents present a certificate from a physician
and surgeon, a physician assistant or an optometrist, and
parents may opt-out based on religious beliefs.
2.Requires a report to be made to the parent when a visual or
other defect has been noted by the supervisor of health or
his/her assistant.
This bill:
1.Specifies that a pupil whose first enrollment or entry occurs
in grade 4 or 7 shall not be required to be appraised in the
year immediately following the pupil's first enrollment or
entry.
2.Requires the appraisal to include tests for visual acuity,
including near vision, and color vision; however, color vision
shall be appraised once and only on male pupils, and the
results of the appraisal shall be entered in the health record
of the pupil; and, color vision appraisal need not begin until
the male pupil has reached the first grade.
3.Requires continual and regular observation of the pupil's
eyes, appearance, behavior, visual performance, and perception
that may indicate vision difficulties to be done by the school
nurse and the classroom teacher.
4.Requires the California Department of Education to adopt
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guidelines for implementation, including training requirements
and a method of testing for near vision.
5.Makes a Legislative finding that access to vision care has
been expanded with implementation of the federal Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act; and, expresses legislative
intent that families be encouraged to utilize the vision care
benefits in order to identify vision difficulties that
interfere with reading and learning, and that vision screening
is performed by appropriately trained professionals.
6.Adds double jointing language to avoid chaptering out issues
with AB 1840 (Campos).
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Minor/absorbable costs to the California Department of
Education to update the existing vision screening guide.
Unknown, potentially significant reimbursable state mandated
costs for school districts to administer additional vision
screenings and to expand the scope of the screenings to
include near vision.
According to the Commission on State Mandates, there are no
pending test claims nor is there a past mandate determination on
the current vision screening requirements. This bill requires
additional screenings and expands the scope of screenings. If a
test claim is submitted, the Commission needs to determine if
the requirements of the bill constitute a higher level of
service. For illustration, if one-third of the nearly 1,000
school districts claimed the $1,000 minimum mandate, state costs
could be approximately $300,000.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/26/14)
American Civil Liberties Union
Junior Leagues of California, State Public Affairs Committee
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/26/14)
State Board of Optometry
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 08/25/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez,
Holden, Jones, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. P�rez, V.
Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron,
Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Jones-Sawyer, Vacancy
PQ:nl 8/26/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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