School boards sue state to stop eye exam law

Financial barrier to free schooling cited

The N.C. School Boards Association and 11 local boards of education are suing the state to overturn a new law requiring children to have comprehensive eye tests before starting kindergarten.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Wake County Superior Court, challenges the constitutionality of the law, claiming it sets up a financial barrier to a free public education. This is the second lawsuit in a week challenging the eye exam mandate. A Raleigh parent who sued last week raised similar objections.

More than 119,000 children are expected to enroll in the state's kindergarten classes this year. The suit says the exams range in cost from $65 to $120.

"It's a charge for admission to kindergarten," said Ann L. Majestic, the school boards' lawyer. "And the question is who's going to pay."

The Wake and Durham school boards are two of the 11 suing the state.

Pediatricians, school boards and advocates for children and the poor are fighting the mandated eye exams as an unnecessary financial burden on parents. Optometrists support the law, saying the exams will catch vision problems that contribute to poor classroom performance.

Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Roy Cooper, said she could not comment on pending lawsuits. The office is reviewing the Raleigh parent's lawsuit, she said, but had not received a copy of the school boards' suit. The Attorney General's Office represents the state in court.

Medicaid will pay for the exams. The legislature also set up a $2 million fund to help other parents pay for the tests.

But the lawsuit says thousands of families do not have private health insurance or access to public assistance that covers eye exams. For example, the health plan for teachers and state employees does not cover vision care.

House Speaker Jim Black, an optometrist from Mecklenburg County, had the eye exam law inserted into the state budget. Over the last few weeks, he has been trying to soften criticism by pledging support for changes in the law that would make it easier for parents to comply.

As the law stands, children must have an eye exam performed by a North Carolina-licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist within six months of starting school. For children starting kindergarten this year, the testing window begins in a few weeks.

Children who don't have the exam would not be able to start school.

Black has said he would lift the requirement that eye doctors with North Carolina licenses do the exams and would give children more time to get them. He has said the law was not meant to be a barrier to education, but a means to improve early childhood education.

Sherri Johnson, a spokeswoman for Gov. Mike Easley, said, "The legislature has made it clear that they will fix the program when they return in May."

Easley was named as a defendant in the suit.

The law's critics don't want the program fixed. They want to get rid of it.

Medical societies representing pediatricians and ophthalmologists say the comprehensive eye exams for all preschoolers are unnecessary. Free screenings and tests done as part of regular check-ups catch most children's vision problems, they say.

"Not every child needs a full eye exam and not every child can afford one," said Cynthia Hampton, an ophthalmologist from Henderson.

Optometrists want the law, contending that the screenings miss too many problems.

"The studies prove the system in place does not do a comprehensive job of catching all those who need vision care," said Hal Herring, president of the N.C. State Optometric Society.