As students head back to school this fall, many families are celebrating new beginnings—but for some children, undiagnosed vision problems can create hidden barriers to learning, development, and social growth. That is the concern behind the Pennsylvania Children’s Vision Bill, which calls for mandatory eye exams at key educational milestones.

For Laura Koenig of Pennsylvania, the issue hit close to home. Her son, Nathan, struggled with reading from the time he entered kindergarten. Despite interventions and an Individualized Education Program (IEP) implemented in second grade, Nathan continued to lag behind his peers. Teachers and specialists initially attributed his difficulties to a learning disability.

 

As students head back to school this fall, many families are celebrating new beginnings&mdash;but for some children, undiagnosed vision problems can create hidden barriers to learning, development, and social growth. That is the concern behind the <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2025&amp;sind=0&amp;body=H&amp;type=B&amp;bn=1077">Pennsylvania Children&rsquo;s Vision Bill</a>, which calls for mandatory eye exams at key educational milestones.
For Laura Koenig of Pennsylvania, the issue hit close to home. Her son, Nathan, struggled with reading from the time he entered kindergarten. Despite interventions and an Individualized Education Program (IEP) implemented in second grade, Nathan continued to lag behind his peers. Teachers and specialists initially attributed his difficulties to a learning disability.
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When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb starts conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb starts conversations about what&rsquo;s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb start the conversations about what&rsquo;s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at&nbsp;<a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

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