Eye Exam Provision Upsets School Officials

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - School officials across the state are upset about a provision House Speaker Jim Black, an optometrist, inserted into the state budget requiring eye exams for kindergartners, the N.C. School Boards Association said.

"They're just imagining that our principals are going to be standing at the schoolhouse door the first day of school, telling kids they can't come to school," said Leanne Winner of the N.C. School Boards Association.

Black inserted the provision in the 2005-2006 budget that requires a comprehensive eye exam for every child entering public kindergarten within six months before the start of school.

Black said the move stemmed from a request from Gov. Mike Easley.

The requirement was inserted in the budget with a new vision care program that's goal is to detect vision problems early in school. The budget included $2 million to help pay for the exams for needy children.

The exam, which is more extensive than the letter-chart screening, must be conducted by an optometrist or ophthalmologist and look for any of seven vision disorders. Each exam will cost $100 to $120, officials estimate.

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