3. a. The Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, shall establish a three-year comprehensive eye examination pilot program for second grade students. The purpose of the program shall be to eliminate inappropriate referrals for special education programs and services by examining students at the end of second grade for vision-related problems that may go undiagnosed and result in special education classification.

b. The commissioner shall select for participation in the pilot program one school district in each of the northern, central, and southern regions of the State, including an urban school district, a suburban school district, and a rural school district. In selecting the pilot school districts, the commissioner may consider the percentage of students in the district classified as eligible for special education programs and services, the percentage increase in such classifications over the prior five school years, and the district’s interest in participating in the program. The commissioner shall collaborate with each pilot school district on the procedures to be implemented to conduct the comprehensive eye examinations, including the coverage of any costs associated with the examinations. In any agreement concerning the cost of providing examinations, no parent or guardian of a student shall be required to make any payment to the optometrist or ophthalmologist providing a comprehensive eye examination, or the school district or any other entity; except that if the student is covered by a health insurance plan which has a copayment requirement, the parent or guardian shall pay the health care provider the required copayment. In this case, the parent or guardian may apply to the Comprehensive Eye Examination Fund for reimbursement of the copayment.

c. The commissioner shall develop and distribute to the pilot districts a form to document and provide information on each comprehensive eye examination conducted under the program.

L.2007, c.122, s.3; amended 2012, c.17, s.79.