Somerville’s Director of School Nursing, Gay Koty, will be testifying at the State House Wednesday, February 5, to provide information to the transportation subcommittee on the outcomes of school based vision screenings done in the SPS.   There will be others from around the Commonwealth providing similar information.
There is a move afoot to create a fund to support healthy vision initiatives for children that would be funded via a voluntary check off contribution system when one renews their driver’s license via the RMV. The bill proposes to add a check box on forms for MA residents renewing their license at the DMV. People who check the box agree to donate $1 to the “Save Our Children’s Sight Fund.”  The Fund will support education around the importance of vision and in-school education.

In Somerville  school nurses conduct vision screenings. Students who fail the screenings have letters sent home to parents encouraging them to seek additional information from PCPs or Optomestrists, and many families opt not to or are not able to do so. The purpose of having testimony is to provide the committee with a clearer sense of how many children struggle with poor vision and how that impacts in school success.