SB4 enhances the scope of the local health commission, stipulates that the state department can offer services to local health departments, mandates every local board of health to create a fund for local public health services to receive state funding, and grants authority to the state department for issuing guidance to local health departments. This bill also permits a school corporation facing difficulty in securing an ophthalmologist or optometrist to administer an adapted clinical technique for vision testing, encompassing specific vision screenings. Demands that the school inform parents of students about any recommendations for additional testing from the vision screener.
The Indiana State Senate passed SB4 on February 23, 2023 by a vote of 41 to 7. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this legislation embraces Agenda 2030 and imposes this agenda in public classrooms. The bill’s provisions to mandate local boards of health to establish a fund and grant the state department authority to issue guidance implies an increased role of government in healthcare decisions. Requiring the involvement of a government entity in addressing the challenge of securing ophthalmologists or optometrists for schools undermines the free market. The government stepping in to provide services that would otherwise be handled by the private sector are affecting market dynamics and intrudes on parents rights over their children’s healthcare practices.