The Vision and Hearing Screening Program at the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) works to identify children with vision and hearing disorders who attend any public, private, parochial, denominational school or a Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) licensed child care center and licensed child care home in Texas.
Mission
Preschoolers and school children with hearing and vision problems will be identified early and linked to appropriate remedial services. School children will learn about preventive vision and hearing care.
Announcements
Regarding
Screening Rules During 2020-2021 School Year
Health and Safety
Code, Chapter 36 and 25 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 37 require Public,
Private, Parochial, and Denominational Schools (Schools) and Department of
Family and Protective Services (DFPS) Licensed Child Care Centers and Licensed
Child Care Homes (Child Cares) to screen children for vision, hearing and
spinal problems.
The Health Screening
Group understands the challenges that schools, and school districts are facing
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although screening is still required for
this school year, DSHS understands the need for flexibility and advises schools
and school districts to assess their capacity to safely conduct
screenings. Schools and child cares with the capacity to screen should
notify parents and follow best practices previous developed by the department.
Parents who choose not to participate at this time may decline screenings.
DSHS recommends
schools notify the parents of children who have missed or will miss a
screening. This notification should inform parents of the missed screening and
encourage them to ask for screenings at their child’s next well-child
appointment with their medical provider. If a parent suspects their child has a
vision, hearing, or spinal problem they should notify the school nurse or school
administration for assistance in obtaining a screening. The Health Screening
Group has developed sample letters for parents for vision and hearing screening and spinal screening that schools may use.
The letters are also available in Spanish: vision and hearing screening - Spanish, spinal screening - Spanish.
The Child Health
Reporting System (CHRS) opens for 2020-2021 reporting on January 15 and closes
June 30. School districts and child cares who conducted screenings should
enter their screening results as usual. The schools and child cares who
were unable to screen children this year due to COVID-19 should still report in
CHRS by entering zeroes in the number fields. Doing this indicates the
school districts and child cares have reported their data and will not appear
on the “Did Not Report” list.
Instructions for
adding zeroes are located below.
Please contact the
Vision, Hearing and Spinal Screening Program at vhssprogram@dshs.texas.gov if you have questions or concerns.
SUBJECT: INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING VISION, HEARING AND SPINAL SCREENING ANNUAL REPORTS FOR FACILITIES THAT WERE UNABLE TO SCREEN FOR THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR (ADDING ZEROES).
In Person/Online Instructions
Schools should follow
these guidelines for students to obtain vision, hearing and spinal screenings that are receiving in person or online
instructions.
- Send a letter to parents notifying them in advance that
screenings will be conducted on designated dates
- Request parent to please bring student receiving online
instructions to the school so screenings may be performed in accordance with
the statutes
- In lieu of the screening(s) provided by the school:
a.
parents or guardians may provide screening record signed by a
licensed professional
b.
parents or guardians may provide signed statement that the
vision, hearing or spinal screening conflicts with the tenets and practices of
a church or religious denomination of which the affiant is an adherent or
member
Vision, Hearing and Spinal Screening Updates
Schools who can screen
students, please refer to this best practices document for guidance on safely screening children this school
year.
The Vision, Hearing
and Spinal Screening Program (VHSS) will offer virtual Vision and Hearing Basic
workshops beginning Sept 1, 2020 for individuals who do not have a current
vision and hearing certification. Please contact the Regional Coordinator
for your area for more information and to sign up for training. Regional
Coordinator contact information can be found on our website: https://dshs.texas.gov/vhs/regions.shtm
Please email vhssprogram@dshs.texas.gov if you have any questions.
Vision
and Hearing Recertification Workshops
Trainings will be
conducted through Microsoft Teams, and will not require specialized software.
Participants will need to have a computer, laptop, chrome book, tablet or smart
phone with audio/video capability.
Please contact the
Regional Coordinator for your area to sign up, their contact information can be
found here.
Vision, Hearing and
Spinal Screening Reporting Period Begins January 15
The reporting period
for vision, hearing and spinal screening (VHSS) begins on January 15,
2021. Results are required to be submitted to the Department of State
Health Services online at the Child Health Reporting System (CHRS) by June 30 of each year. View the vision, hearing and spinal
screening annual reports flyer.
The
last day to submit your report for this school year is June 30, 2021. After June 30, the reporting system
shuts down and late reporting cannot be submitted.
Expert Panel Provides Recommendations on Using Photoscreening 
The Vision Screening Program determined that current rule allows for the use of photoscreening devices. Texas Administrative Code, Title 25 Part 1, Chapter 37, related to
Vision and Hearing Screening, allows for the use of instrument-based devices following the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) guidelines, as revised, as they apply to age, verbal ability, ability to cooperate with screening, allowable methods of screening in different situations, and referral criteria. AAPOS vision screening recommendations indicate that instrument-based devices, such as photoscreeners, are not recommended for use in children 6 years or over and the visual acuity wall chart screening method is preferred.
In response to stakeholder feedback and as part of HB 3157 implementation activities, the program convened an expert panel to review evidence-based research, best practices, and professional recommendations related to screening children for vision disorders. The meeting was held on the DSHS Main Campus, November 16, 2017. Panelists participated both in person and via conference call. It was an informal, closed meeting and not subject to the open meeting act.
The expert panel provided five recommendations when screening children for vision conditions. View the recommendations.
House Bill 3157 and Photoscreening Use in Schools
The Governor signed
House Bill (HB) 3157, 85th Legislature, Regular Session 2017. It amends Health and Safety Code, Chapter
36, Special Senses
and Communication Disorders and became effective September 1, 2017. HB 3157
does not require that schools use photo screening technology nor require that
schools purchase the equipment. However, it explicitly allows schools to
use photo screening technology as part of the screening process.
Because current rules
allow for the use of photo screening in a manner that is consistent with
American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS)
recommendations, rules will not need to be amended to implement HB 3157. View
the current vision and hearing screening
rules. Also, see
our vision screening frequent
questions.
Audiometers
An audiometer measures various aspects of a person's ability to hear. To measure hearing accurately and to ensure that all audiometers perform consistently, Texas law requires that they be registered and calibrated. Read more about audiometers.
Contact Us
Texas Department of State Health Services
Vision and Hearing Screening
PO Box 149347, MC 1818, Austin, Texas 78714-9347
1100 West 49th Street, Austin, Texas 78756-3199
Phone: 512-776-7420 or toll free 1-800-252-8023, extension 7420
Fax: 512-776-7256
Email:
vhssprogram@dshs.texas.gov
Relay Texas: Dial 7-1-1
External links to other sites are intended to be informational and do not have the endorsement of the Texas Department of State Health Services. These sites may not be accessible to people with disabilities.