S.R. No. 97 Summary

• Request four state departments (Health, Human Services, Education, and Attorney General) to establish an interdepartmental working group addressing inconsistent vision screening in Hawaii public schools.

• Approximately one in five school children need glasses, yet 35 percent have never seen an eye care professional; vision screening was mandated in 1989 but lacks consistent methodology since the Department of Health program was defunded in 1997.

• Working group must include representatives from state agencies, Hawaii Keiki: Healthy and Ready to Learn, Hawaii Primary Care Association, Project Vision Hawaii, Lions and Rotary International districts, and various health care providers including ophthalmologists, optometrists, and nurses.

• Department of the Attorney General tasked with identifying statutory and administrative barriers to consolidated vision screening and proposing amendments to remove those barriers.

• Working group must submit findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation to the Legislative Reference Bureau by December 15, 2019, with final report submitted to Legislature 20 days before the 2020 Regular Session convenes.