Legislature Called On To Approve Vision Exams For Children

Only three weeks remain in the legislative session and time for passage of some pieces of legislation is running out. Two bills that have yet to be brought up for debate in the House and Senate would require vision examinations for children under the age of six. Nicki Patton of the Kentucky Early Childhood Development Authority has visited Jefferson City lawmakers to ask them to get this legislation passed. She points out legislation to this effect already exists in Kentucky, where it was learned almost one in five children under the age of six needing glasses does not have them. She says Kentucky’s numbers mirror those in Missouri and elsewhere throughout the nation. Patton says legislators must be aware there is a link between children seeing clearly and the kids doing well in school.