New Resources Address Childhood Myopia, Digital Eye Strain, and the Importance of Regular Eye Exams

The Vision Council Foundation today launched “See What Matters – Empowering Education,” its 2026 back-to-school eye health campaign encouraging families to prioritize comprehensive eye exams and healthy vision habits as students return to the classroom.

This year’s campaign places special emphasis on behaviors and conditions that can impede learning, including digital eye strain and dry eye from screen use, as well as the prevalence of childhood myopia (nearsightedness), a condition affecting roughly 30% of children and adolescents in the U.S. today.

Research from The Vision Council’s Focused inSights: Provider Approaches to Myopia Management found that 91% of eyecare providers now recommend myopia screening at least once a year, and that excessive screen time, genetics, and lack of outdoor activity are the leading risk factors for the condition’s onset.

“Eye exams belong on every family’s back-to-school checklist, right alongside shopping for new clothes and school supplies,” said Ashley Mills, CEO of The Vision Council and The Vision Council Foundation. “Children deserve the best possible chance to learn and thrive in school, and that starts with making sure they go into the school year seeing their best. Comprehensive eye exams for the entire family are one of the simplest things a parent can do to help their children start the school year ready to learn.”

To support this effort, The Vision Council Foundation has released free, downloadable toolkits so eyecare professionals, schools, and families can quickly find the resources most relevant to them:

  • For Eyecare Providers: printable materials and social media content to help patients keep clear vision top of mind, for use in-office and online
  • For Schools and Parents: everything families, teachers, and school nurses need to make eye health a priority, including information about myopia, a family eye exam checklist, and a postcard for school nurses to share vision screening results
  • For Media: background data on children’s vision health and childhood myopia, including research from The Vision Council

These latest toolkits are the Foundation’s second set of resources under its See What Matters initiative, which promotes the importance of vision health for people of all ages through free educational materials for families and eyecare providers.

The full “See What Matters – Empowering Education” toolkit is available now at thevisioncouncilfoundation.org/see-what-matters/.

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About The Vision Council Foundation
As the philanthropic foundation of The Vision Council, The Vision Council Foundation empowers people everywhere to see and look their best through public eye health education and optical industry career training support. A 501c3 charitable nonprofit organization, the Foundation is dedicated to ensuring better vision for better lives.