Back-to-school season brings a familiar list of things to think about: supplies, schedules, new routines and getting children ready to learn. Vision belongs on that list too, especially as students move throughout the day between classroom displays, books, laptops and tablets.
For some students, the new school year may be the first time a parent, teacher or school nurse notices that distance vision is not as clear as it should be. For others, extended screen use may bring more attention to eye comfort and dryness. Those concerns are behind The Vision Council Foundation’s expanded See What Matters – Empowering Education initiative for 2026.
The new back-to-school resources focus on childhood myopia, digital eye strain, dry eye associated with screen use, comprehensive eye exams and communication around school vision screening results. The Foundation reports that myopia now affects roughly 30% of children and adolescents in the United States, while research from The Vision Council found that 91% of eyecare providers recommend myopia screening at least once a year.
Myopia Is Becoming a Bigger Part of the School Vision Conversation
Myopia, or nearsightedness, can make distant objects appear blurry while closer objects remain clearer. In a classroom, that difference matters because students are constantly shifting between near and distance tasks, from reading at a desk to looking across the room.
The Vision Council’s provider research identifies excessive screen time, genetics and lack of outdoor activity among the leading risk factors eyecare providers associate with the onset of myopia. No single behavior determines whether a child will become nearsighted, but the findings reflect the combination of hereditary and environmental factors being considered as childhood myopia becomes more common.
With roughly three in ten U.S. children and adolescents affected, myopia is increasingly part of the broader conversation about school readiness and children’s eye health. The beginning of the academic year gives families a natural opportunity to think about vision in the same way they consider other routine health needs.
Ashley Mills, CEO of The Vision Council and The Vision Council Foundation, put that connection directly into the back-to-school context:
“Eye exams belong on every family’s back-to-school checklist, right alongside shopping for new clothes and school supplies.”
— Ashley Mills, CEO, The Vision Council and The Vision Council Foundation
Her point goes beyond simply adding another appointment to a busy family calendar. Children may not always recognize that their vision has changed, particularly when blur develops gradually, so routine attention to eye health can help make sure concerns are not overlooked.
Screen-Related Eye Concerns Are Different From Myopia
Digital devices are now a regular part of learning, both in school and at home. Children may spend much of the day moving between screens, printed materials and distance viewing, which is why the new resources also address digital eye strain and dry eye associated with screen use.
Those concerns belong in the same broader discussion about children’s vision, but they are not the same as myopia. Myopia is a refractive condition associated with blurred distance vision, while digital eye strain and screen-related dryness are connected with the visual demands of prolonged device use.
Keeping that distinction clear helps prevent every discussion about children’s vision from becoming a discussion about screens alone. The Vision Council research lists excessive screen time as one factor eyecare providers associate with myopia risk, but genetics and limited outdoor activity are also part of that picture.
For families, the more useful approach is to consider a child’s overall visual demands rather than focus on a single behavior. A typical school day now involves frequent transitions between near work, digital devices and distance viewing, which makes eye health relevant across many different parts of learning.
Screening and Comprehensive Eye Exams Have Different Roles
Schools can play an important role in identifying children who may need further evaluation. Vision screening provides a practical way to check large numbers of students and flag results that fall outside expected ranges, particularly when a child has not raised concerns about their own sight.
Screening, however, serves a different purpose from a comprehensive eye examination. A screening may identify a reason for further evaluation, while a comprehensive exam allows an eyecare professional to assess a child’s vision and eye health more fully.
That distinction is reflected in the new resources for schools and parents. The toolkit includes both a family eye exam checklist and a postcard school nurses can use to communicate vision screening results, helping connect the initial screening process with clearer follow-up information for families.
For school health professionals, that follow-up can be just as important as performing the screening itself. A screening result has more value when parents understand what it means and whether additional evaluation should be considered.
Good-Lite’s LEA SYMBOLS® 15-Line Distance Chart is designed for school vision screening and assessment beginning at age 3. It uses proportionally spaced LEA SYMBOLS® at a 10-foot testing distance, making it useful for children who may not yet know letters.
The AAPOS Vision Screening Kit provides another option for screening beginning at age 3 through adulthood. It includes distance visual acuity charts using Sloan Letters and LEA SYMBOLS®, along with occlusion tools, a response key, measuring cord and instructions.
Both tools can support structured vision screening programs, but their role should remain clear. Screening can help identify children who may need additional attention, while it does not diagnose myopia or replace a comprehensive eye examination.
Practical Resources Can Make Follow-Up Easier
One of the more useful aspects of See What Matters – Empowering Education is that the materials are organized around the people most likely to use them. Rather than offering one general set of information, The Vision Council Foundation has created separate resources for schools and parents, eyecare professionals, and media and industry audiences.
The schools and parents materials include information about myopia, a family eye exam checklist and the school vision screening postcard. These resources give teachers, school nurses and families information they can use during the school year rather than simply raising general awareness.
Eyecare professionals have access to printable materials and social media content that can be used with patients, while the media materials provide background information and research related to children’s eye health and childhood myopia. That audience-specific approach makes the information easier to use because a school nurse, a parent and an eyecare provider do not all need the same type of resource.
A school nurse may need a clear way to communicate a screening result, while an eyecare provider may need materials that support a conversation about myopia or eye exams. Parents, meanwhile, need straightforward information that helps them understand where screening fits and when additional eye care may be appropriate.
Vision Deserves a Place in Back-to-School Planning
The value of these new resources is not simply that another toolkit is available. They reinforce the idea that children’s vision can be considered alongside the other routine preparations families make at the beginning of a school year.
Myopia is affecting a substantial share of children, while screen-heavy school days have made eye comfort a more familiar concern for families and educators. At the same time, school screening continues to provide an opportunity to identify children who may benefit from further evaluation, while comprehensive eye exams serve a broader clinical role.
Those pieces fit together without needing to be treated as the same issue. For families, the goal is to keep clear and comfortable vision on the back-to-school checklist. For schools, it means using screening and follow-up communication effectively, while eyecare professionals can help families understand how children’s visual needs may change as they grow.
The Vision Council Foundation’s See What Matters – Empowering Education resources are available free for families, schools and eyecare professionals.
Sources
The Vision Council Foundation. The Vision Council Foundation Expands “See What Matters” Initiative with New Back-to-School Toolkit. Press release supplied for this article.
The Vision Council Foundation. See What Matters – Empowering Education.
