Registry for children with blindness or visual impairment. (FE)

What it would have done

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

This bill requires the Department of Health Services to establish a registry of children who are under the age of three and who are diagnosed with blindness or visual impairment. The purpose of the registry is to connect parents or guardians of children with blindness or visual impairment with services provided by nonprofit organizations and paid for by DHS. The bill defines visual impairment as a permanent and irremediable or degenerative ocular or neurological condition that significantly and adversely affects or will affect the child's visual functioning, developmental progress, or educational performance. A physician, optometrist, or ophthalmologist who diagnoses blindness or visual impairment in a child who is under the age of three must notify a parent or guardian of the child of the existence of the registry and that the registry provides connections to services provided by nonprofit organizations, and paid for by DHS, to children who have blindness or visual impairment and their families. Similarly, any health care provider or other qualified professional that provides early intervention services for a child under the age of three that the health care provider or qualified health professional suspects is experiencing vision loss must notify a parent or guardian of the child of the existence of the registry.

If a parent or guardian elects to include the child on the registry, the physician, optometrist, ophthalmologist, health care provider, or other qualified professional must submit certain information, including the contact information for the parent or guardian, to DHS for inclusion in the registry. The bill directs DHS to refer any child included on the registry for a functional vision evaluation conducted by a teacher of the visually impaired who is licensed by the Department of Public Instruction. Based on the results of the evaluation, the teacher of the visually impaired shall determine whether the child requires direct or consultative vision services from a teacher of the visually impaired as part of the Birth to 3 Program.

Who's behind it

3 senators are its authors⁠. 2 are Republicans and 1 is a Democrat.

19 more lawmakers signed on in support⁠.

What it would cost

State agencies filed a cost estimate. Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

• Fiscal Estimate From DHS
• Fiscal Estimate From DPI