A commission tasked with tracking the progress of a 2004 state law requiring vision screenings for Massachusetts students entering kindergarten found that preventable vision disorders continue to affect children and recommended new policies its members say will build on the existing law.

“This is something that we don’t, I think, talk about enough, but uncorrected vision can actually impact school readiness, literacy and lead to behavioral issues,” Rep. Christine Barber said at a Tuesday briefing on the commission’s report, which was filed last August.

“This is something I’ve learned a lot more about in my time in the Legislature, but these effects are most acutely felt in low-income communities and among children of color, and children with disabilities,” Barber said. “So, we know that kids don’t always know what’s going on with their eyes, especially when they’re young, and we really need to make sure we have high-quality screening programs.”

Barber, a Somerville Democrat, and Millbury Democrat Sen. Michael Moore, served on the commission along with optometrists, an ophthalmologist, a pediatrician, nurses and state health and education officials.

Created in the fiscal 2018 state budget, the panel noted in its report that its work was “delayed because of staff being redirected to the COVID response efforts.”

The commission’s recommendations include coordinating vision health services for children starting at birth, reviewing ways that MassHealth and other insurers can address inequities in access to pediatric ophthalmologists and optometrists, and encouraging insurers to cover eyeglasses for kids “without burdensome co-pays, deductibles, or delays.”

Moore and Barber filed legislation (S 136, H 2231) based on the commission’s findings, which has been endorsed by the Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities Committee and Health Care Financing Committee. Barber said the bill “should be headed to Ways and Means as we speak.”

The bill creates a permanent, cross-agency children’s vision and eye health advisory council within the Department of Public Health that would make recommendations to lawmakers annually, and tasks the department with creating a registry to record results of children’s vision screenings and follow-up eye care.

Moore said the registry would be available to school health professionals and licensed providers who administer vision and eye care, screenings and exams.

“Not only would such a registry help support students and families in procuring eye care at the individual level, it would provide essential statewide information to officials at the department and lawmakers about eye care in the commonwealth,” he said. “The information will help identify geographic areas that need additional investment to ensure coverage and highlight the other barriers to care that widen the gap in the educational development process across our communities.”

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