Georgia General Assembly · Full text

HR 145: Education and Public Health, Departments of; collaborate to prioritize the expansion of vision and hearing screenings at various grade levels; urge

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House Resolution 145 (RULES COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)

By: Representatives Erwin of the 32nd, Dubnik of the 29th, Cheokas of the 151st, Wade of the 9th, Barton of the 5th, and others

A RESOLUTION

Urging the Department of Education and the Department of Public Health to collaborate and to prioritize the expansion of vision and hearing screenings at various grade levels to identify students with undiagnosed and untreated vision or hearing problems that may impede their acquisition of literacy skills; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, a significant percentage of school age children, approximately one-third, experience vision problems, yet for many of them the lack of vision screening and necessary follow-up diagnostic evaluations are impairing their ability to acquire literacy skills; and

WHEREAS, hearing screening is only required as a newborn before hospital discharge and at entry into a school system, and vision screening is only required at entry into a school system; and

WHEREAS, 8 percent of children have hearing loss between six and 19 years of age; and

WHEREAS, there is a well documented direct link between vision and hearing health and the acquisition of literacy skills; and

WHEREAS, Code Section 20-2-771 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated authorizes and requires the Department of Education to collaborate with public health authorities to address health related mandates for students; and

WHEREAS, effective screening programs can identify vision and hearing impairments early, allowing timely interventions that support academic success and literacy development.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that:

(1) The Department of Education and Department of Public Health are urged to collaborate in developing a comprehensive strategy and methods to expand vision and hearing screenings for students in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and first, third, fifth, and eighth grades, as well as for transfer students in all grade levels; and

(2) Such comprehensive strategy and methods, once developed, shall be presented to the chairpersons of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Education and Youth Committee and the Georgia Council on Literacy to ensure alignment with state literacy goals.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to representatives of the Department of Education and the Department of Public Health.