All Mississippi public schools are required to conduct basic vision screening of Kindergarten students within the first 45 days of the school year. The MDE recommends additional screening be conducted through the Mississippi Eye Screening Program. This program is available to all public-school Kindergarten students statewide at no cost. The on-site screening is conducted each year by Vision Research Corporation through a legislative appropriation. Of the 33,000 students screened in 2017-18, over 5,000 students were identified with potential eye problems that could affect their classroom performance. Of these, over 2,000 had significant problems that could cause permanent loss of vision if not detected and corrected early. Each school year, the Vision Research Corporation reaches out to Mississippi public schools to schedule the free eye screening for Kindergarten students. All the students identified with eye problems are referred to Sight Savers of America to obtain the care and treatment needed. For additional information or to schedule your Kindergarten students for an eye screening, please contact project manager, Laura E. Byrd at lbyrd@vision-research.com.