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HB26-1193 • 2026

Vision Tests for Pre-Kindergarten Students

Current law requires that school districts test the vision of students in kindergarten and the first, second, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth grades. The bill requires that school districts also test

Children Education Parental Rights
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Rep. M. Lindsay, Rep. M. Martinez, Sen. K. Wallace, Rep. J. Bacon, Rep. A. Boesenecker, Rep. K. Brown, Rep. S. Camacho, Rep. C. Clifford, Rep. M. Duran, Rep. M. Froelich, Rep. L. Goldstein, Rep. J. Joseph, Rep. S. Lieder, Rep. B. Marshall, Rep. J. McCluskie, Rep. K. McCormick, Rep. K. Nguyen, Rep. A. Paschal, Rep. J. Phillips, Rep. M. Rutinel, Rep. G. Rydin, Rep. E. Sirota, Rep. L. Smith, Rep. K. Stewart, Rep. T. Story, Rep. A. Valdez, Rep. E. Velasco, Rep. S. Woodrow, Rep. Y. Zokaie
Last action
2026-03-31
Official status
Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Education
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary provided by the state does not specify if parents will be informed of vision deficiencies in pre-kindergarten students.

Vision Tests for Pre-K Students

This bill requires school districts to test the vision of pre-kindergarten students and updates existing law to use the term 'vision' instead of 'sight'.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires school districts to test the vision of students in pre-kindergarten.
  • Updates terminology in current laws by replacing 'sight' with 'vision'.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Pre-kindergarten students who will now be required to have their vision tested.
  • School districts that must implement these new requirements.

Terms To Know

Vision
The ability of the eyes and brain to work together to see objects clearly and understand what they are seeing.

Limits and Unknowns

  • It is unclear if parents or guardians will be informed when a vision deficiency is found in pre-kindergarten students.
  • The bill does not specify how often these tests should take place for each grade level.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

L.001

Second Reading

Lost [**]

Plain English: The amendment changes the bill to require vision tests only for children in kindergarten, not pre-kindergarten, and adds a provision that allows school districts to offer optional vision screenings for pre-kindergarten students with parental consent.

  • Changes the requirement from testing all children in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten to testing only those in kindergarten.
  • Adds an option for school districts to provide voluntary vision screenings for pre-kindergarten students, but requires written permission from parents or guardians.
  • The amendment text does not specify if there are any conditions under which the optional screening can be offered beyond parental consent.
L.002

Second Reading

Lost [**]

Plain English: The amendment adds a requirement for school districts to accept written verification from parents or guardians of pre-kindergarten students if the child has had a vision screening or eye exam within the last year.

  • School districts must now consider written proof from parents or guardians that a pre-kindergarten student had a vision test done in the past twelve months as meeting the vision testing requirement.
  • The amendment text does not specify what happens if a parent or guardian cannot provide such verification for a pre-kindergarten student.
L.003

Second Reading

Lost [**]

Plain English: The amendment adds a rule that school districts can only offer vision screenings to pre-kindergarten students if they get written permission from the child's parent or guardian.

  • School districts may now provide vision tests for children in pre-kindergarten, but only with written consent from their parents or guardians.
  • The amendment does not specify what happens if a school district conducts a vision screening without the required written consent.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-31 Senate

    Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Education

  2. 2026-03-27 House

    House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  3. 2026-03-26 House

    House Second Reading Special Order - Passed - No Amendments

  4. 2026-03-06 House

    House Second Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments

  5. 2026-03-04 House

    House Committee on Education Refer Unamended to House Committee of the Whole

  6. 2026-02-10 House

    Introduced In House - Assigned to Education

Official Summary Text

Current law requires that school districts test the vision of students in kindergarten and the first, second, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth grades.
The bill requires that school districts also test the vision of students in pre-kindergarten and updates terminology by replacing the word 'sight' with the word 'vision'.
(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Second Regular Session
Seventy-fifth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
REENGROSSED
This Version Includes All Amendments
Adopted in the House of Introduction
LLS NO. 26-0568.01 Lindy Schaible x4215 HOUSE BILL 26-1193
House Committees Senate Committees
Education
A BILL FOR AN ACT
CONCERNING VISION TESTS FOR PRE-KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS.101
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
http://leg.colorado.gov.)
Current law requires that school districts test the vision of students
in kindergarten and the first, second, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth
grades.
The bill requires that school districts also test the vision of students
in pre-kindergarten and updates terminology by replacing the word
"sight" with the word "vision".
HOUSE
3rd Reading Unamended
March 27, 2026
HOUSE
2nd Reading Unamended
March 26, 2026
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Martinez and Lindsay, Bacon, Boesenecker, Brown, Camacho, Clifford, Duran, Froelich,
Goldstein, Joseph, Lieder, Marshall, McClus kie, McCormick, Nguyen, Paschal, Ph illips,
Rutinel, Rydin, Sirota, Smith, Stewart K., Story, Valdez, Velasco, Woodrow, Zokaie
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Wallace,
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:1
SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, amend 22-1-116 as2
follows:3
22-1-116. School children - vision and hearing tests.4
The sight VISION OF ALL CHILDREN IN PRE-KINDERGARTEN AND THE5
VISION and hearing of all children in the kindergarten AND THE first,6
second, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth grades, or children in comparable7
age groups referred for testing, shall be tested during the school year by8
the teacher, principal, or other qualified person authorized by the school9
district. Each school in the district shall make a record of all sight VISION10
and hearing tests given during the school year and record the individual11
results of each test on each child's records. The parents or guardian shall12
MUST be informed when a deficiency is found. The provisions of this13
section shall DO not apply to any child whose parent or guardian objects14
on religious or personal grounds.15
SECTION 2. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act16
takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the17
ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August18
12, 2026, if adjournment sine die is on May 13, 2026); except that, if a19
referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the20
state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act21
within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect22
unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in23
November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the24
official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.25
1193-2-