FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information:
Dori Jennings
Prevent Blindness Ohio
614.464.2020 x105
[email protected]

Prevent Blindness Ohio Introduces New Resources and Advances National and State Advocacy Efforts to Save Children’s Vision as Part of August’s Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month

– As many children head back to school, Prevent Blindness Ohio launches new Children’s Vision Screening Certification Course, and advocates for legislators to pass the Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children Act –

Columbus, OH (August 5, 2026) – As many kids across the country are headed back to school, Prevent Blindness Ohio 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 Ohio 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.

The Children’s Vision Screening Certification Course is designed specifically for:

• School Nurses, Public Health Nurses, and Pediatric and Family Nurse Practitioners

• Early Head Start/Head Start Staff

• Early Care and Education Staff

• Community Volunteers

• Primary Healthcare Providers including Pediatricians, Physician Assistants and Medical Assistants

Prevent Blindness was founded 118 years ago as a children’s vision and eye health advocacy organization. Today, Prevent Blindness Ohio 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 Ohio 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 Amy Pulles, President & CEO of Prevent Blindness Ohio. “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.”

For general information about children’s eye health and safety, visit PreventBlindness.org/your-childs-sight or contact Prevent Blindness Ohio at 800-301-2020, or visit Prevent Blindness Ohio at pbohio.org

For information on the EDVI Act, please visit PreventBlindness.org/edvi-act. Vision care financial assistance resources in English and Spanish may also be found at: PreventBlindness.org/vision-care-financial-assistance-information/.

About Prevent Blindness
Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation’s leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. The Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness serves all 88 Ohio counties, providing direct services to more than 1,000,000 Ohioans annually and educating millions of consumers about what they can do to protect and preserve their precious gift of sight. For more information or to contribute, call 800-301-2020 or donate here. Visit us at pbohio.org. Follow us: facebook.com/pbohio/

###