As many children head back to school, Prevent Blindness launches new Children’s Vision Screening Certification Course and advocates for legislators to pass the Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children Act
As many kids across the country are headed back to school, Prevent Blindness] has declared August as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month. Uncorrected vision disorders can impair child development, interfere with learning, and even lead to permanent vision loss, according to the Children’s Vision and Eye Health: A Snapshot of Current National Issues report. Additionally, healthy vision is a strong predictor of academic performance in school-age children.
Detecting and treating vision issues early is essential to keeping eyes healthy for a lifetime. Prevent Blindness is rolling out a revised Children’s Vision Screening Certification Course, preparing participants with evidence-based and leading expert-approved screening practices. The course also trains learners on how to make appropriate referrals for eye examinations and improves the follow-up process to help reduce potential gaps between referrals from vision screening, and completion of recommended eye examinations and treatment.
Prevent Blindness was founded 118 years ago as a children’s vision and eye health advocacy organization. Today, Prevent Blindness continues that mission, now advocating for the Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children Act (EDVI), H.R. 2527, led by Congressional Vision Caucus co-chairs Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Marc A. Veasey (D-TX). This bipartisan legislation seeks to establish the first national program specifically aimed at improving children’s vision and eye health and is supported by 27 members of the House of Representatives. Prevent Blindness is working with legislators to secure a bi-partisan companion bill in the U.S. Senate.
The EDVI Act is currently supported by more than 115 leading organizations. Prevent Blindness has developed new resources and refreshed tools to help advance the EDVI Act, including updated children’s vision fact sheets by state detailing early intervention efforts. Prevent Blindness encourages individuals to contact their government representatives to encourage legislators to support the EDVI Act by visiting the Prevent Blindness Legislative Action Center.
And, the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness (NCCVEH) offers an expansive library of free educational and expert-approved resources including the recently updated “Small Steps for Big Vision: An Eye Health Information Tool Kit for Parents and Caregivers” materials, in partnership with the National Head Start Association. The NCCVEH also recently updated its children’s vision screening requirements by state resource.
The NCCVEH will be co-hosting the upcoming webinar “Collaborative Solutions for Expanding Eye Care Access in Special Populations,” on Aug. 6, 2026. The second in the four-part Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health webinar series, this discussion will include best practices for building and strengthening partnerships to advance eye care access for foster youth, immigrant and refugee populations, and Tribal communities. Registration is free for all participants.
“When vision issues are detected and treated early, children are put on a better path to reach their fullest potential,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “We invite parents, teachers, healthcare professionals, and anyone who is interested in saving sight for our kids, to join us in our efforts and learn how they can make a difference today that will last a lifetime.”
