No. SB 12 applies to school districts and open-enrollment charter schools. Private schools, licensed childcare centers, and licensed childcare homes must still conduct age- or grade-appropriate vision, hearing, and spinal screenings unless a parent or guardian provides proof of screening conducted somewhere else or submits an affidavit for religious exemption.

House Bill 3157 allows the use of photoscreening devices but does not require their use or purchase. Schools should continue to follow current rules that allow the use of photoscreening technology in accordance with the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) recommendations. (Read additional details about the use of photoscreening below.) 

All new technology or methods are vetted within the agency and with experts to ensure they comply with current guidance.  DSHS continually follows AAPOS guidelines and recommendations to determine acceptable visual acuity screening technology or methods. If new technology or methods are deemed to have met AAPOS guidelines, DSHS will update its program rules, as needed, and communicate the new guidance with stakeholders. 

DSHS follows American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) guidelines (https://aapos.org/members/policy-statements) for the screening program. Our current interpretation of the AAPOS guidelines is that there is insufficient independent validation of computerized visual acuity screening to have a formal endorsement or recommendation of its use. The DSHS position at this time is that schools use the Sloan Letter Chart or HOTV charts as they are considered the gold standard for screening vision in otherwise healthy school-age children. 

DSHS does not promote or endorse vendors or products on the market.  DSHS also does not maintain an approved list of screening devices. Texas schools have the autonomy to choose products that best serve their students, and DSHS will continue to recommend methods that align with AAPOS guidelines.  

Photoscreening is a pediatric vision screening method that uses a specialized camera to assess a child's visual acuity. Other related terms are autorefractor, objective screening, and instrument-based screening. By detecting specific light reflexes from each eye, the devices produce images that can help identify refractive errors (such as a prescription for glasses) and ocular misalignments (such as strabismus). Photoscreening is particularly useful with preverbal children (under age 3 years), young children (age 3 to 5 years), and older, non-cooperative, or non-verbal children. However, photoscreening cannot determine exactly how well a child’s visual acuity is developing. 

Visual acuity is the sharpness of vision, measured by the ability to discern letters or numbers at a given distance according to a fixed standard. The use of an eye chart requires a cooperative child, so successful testing is greatest with children 3 years and older. It is the only screening method that directly measures visual acuity and is the preferred exam for older children.

If you choose not to screen in the Fall semester (by the end of December), you will need to screen your students at the required age.

 

Yes. With the new age requirements, the child will need to be screened at the appropriate age or during the fall semester of the proper grade level.

 

Schools must identify outliers (i.e., students promoted to higher grades or held back) and ensure their screenings align with appropriate ages rather than grades.

Yes, the school or district can pick, so long as the student falls within one of the allowed age or grade categories.  The school has the flexibility to screen boys at age 13 or 14, or in the fall of grade 8.  
 

Schools may encourage, but they cannot require students to be screened.  
 

If the student will still be the appropriate age or entering the proper grade level during the first 120 days of the following school year, then the screening may be postponed until that time.