Court order blocks North Carolina law requiring kindergarteners to undergo eye examinations
A state court has issued an order blocking the State of North Carolina from enforcing a new law requiring children entering kindergarten to undergo eye examinations. The order prevents enforcement at least through July 2007 and prohibits further court proceedings until October. The order is the result of an agreement between the state and the North Carolina School Boards Association (NCSBA) and local school boards, which challenged the law, as well as a parent who filed his own lawsuit. NCSBA attorney Ann Majestic says she proposed the agreement. Opponents of the law argue the tests are expensive, ranging in cost between $65 and more than $120, and unnecessary because children already must receive vision screenings before entering school. They wanted the law declared unconstitutional because they argued it denies children a free public education and creates an unreasonable barrier to access public schools. North Carolina Speaker of the House Jim Black, an optometrist who sponsored the law, says he only wanted to improve the health of children and ensure they were prepared to succeed in school. "It was never the intent of the law to keep kids from entering school or to impose an additional financial burden for parents," he says. "Rather, the intent was to build on other successful early childhood initiatives ... that make sure that children arrive at school ready to learn." He cited a National Institutes of Health study that found that vision problems weren't caught in at least 10 percent of children who received basic screenings. The program was inserted into a budget bill last June and passed without even a public hearing. Some lawmakers questioned the need for the law and Speaker Black's motivation. Mr. Black received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations from fellow optometrists during the 2003-04 election cycle. He has said that he has never supported legislation based on campaign contributions. With enforcement of the law stayed, the legislature will examine alternatives, such as modifying the law or repealing it. Now the legislature will have time to consider the law after it convenes in May, says Jack Cherry, president of the school boards association and a Beaufort County school board member. Ms. Majestic says NCSBA's goal is repeal. "We don't think there are modifications that will fix the constitutional problem," she says. "We can restart litigation this fall if we're not satisfied with the outcome of the legislative session."
Winston-Salem JournalBy Steve Hartsoe (Associated Press)
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Editor's Note: Background on the suit is available below. NCSBA's press release announcing the preliminary injunction and stay of proceedings quotes Dr. R. Jeffrey Board, a pediatric ophthalmologist, who wrote in an NCSBA affidavit that "there is no legitimate medical or educational interest served by requiring a child to obtain a comprehensive eye exam before entering kindergarten at age 5. Medically speaking, age 5 is the least advantageous time to detect vision disorders in young children."]
[NSBA School Law pages on NCSBA suit][NCSBA press release]