Background:
Indiana Code (I.C. 20-34-3-12) requires public school corporations, including charter schools, to conduct a near and distant visual acuity screening for students in kindergarten or first grade, students in third, fifth, and eighth grades, as well as students suspected of having a visual deficit. In addition to the visual acuity screening conducted by the school corporation or charter school, a more extensive visual screening using the Modified Clinical Technique (MCT) performed by a licensed eye professional is required for students in kindergarten or first grade.
Local optometrists, who serve as regional liaisons, are available to assist schools with locating optometrists in their area. If schools are unable to locate an optometrist to perform the MCT vision screening at the school, schools are encouraged to contact their regional liaison. A list of regional liaisons can be found here. A map to determine which regional liaison serves your area can be found here.
Under certain circumstances, Indiana state law does provide a waiver for the MCT portion of the vision screening. As the waiver only applies to the MCT screening, schools cannot submit a waiver for the near and distance visual acuity screening requirement.
Schools should no longer complete a waiver at the building level. Public and charter schools should submit one request per school corporation.
Instructions:
School corporations, including charter schools, may use the following form to request a waiver for those schools within their corporation for which they attempted, but were unable to locate an ophthalmologist or optometrist to complete the MCT portion of the visual screening process for students in kindergarten or first grade.
Once you have successfully submitted your request, a verification note will pop up. A copy of your request, that you may download for your files, will be available at the bottom of this note.