Illinois Is About to Change the Game for Color Blind Kids

Advocacy & Awareness

A new state bill would make Illinois one of the most progressive places in the world for color vision screening, and it's a signal of where the rest of the nation, and the globe, needs to go.

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Here's something most parents don't know. In the majority of U.S. states, your child can go through their entire K–12 education without a single test for color blindness. Not one.

Since color vision deficiency affects roughly 1 in 12 boys and 1 in 200 girls, that means classrooms full of kids quietly struggling with color-coded worksheets, maps, and science labs. And nobody knows.

That's starting to change. Illinois House Bill 3408, introduced in the 2025–2026 legislative session, proposes something straightforward and long overdue: make color vision testing a standard part of how Illinois schools screen kids' eyes.

If passed, Illinois HB 3408 would require color discrimination testing as part of all school vision screenings. Every child enrolling in kindergarten, whether in public, private, or parochial schools, would receive a color vision deficiency exam.

The bill would also require the State Board of Education to publish guidance for teachers on how to support color-blind learners in the classroom. That last part is rare. In fact, it's almost unheard of at the state level.

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Where the Other 49 States Stand

Illinois wouldn't be the first state to require color vision screening, but it would join a very small club. Here's the honest picture:

Of the states that do require color vision testing, the details vary widely: different grades, different exemptions, different levels of follow-through. Here's what's happening in the states leading the way.

• Bill
  Illinois (HB 3408) Pending. Would require color vision exams at kindergarten entry for all students, plus state-level teacher guidance for supporting color-blind learners. More comprehensive than most existing laws.
• Law
  New York Requires color perception screening for all new students within 6 months of school enrollment. It's one of the most consistent mandates in the country.
• Law
  California Requires color vision testing at kindergarten entry and in grades 2, 5, and 8, but with a major gap. The law currently only applies to male students. Girls are left out entirely.
• Law
  Arizona A 2019 law expanded school screenings to include color deficiency testing at school entry, 3rd grade, and 7th grade. It was backed by philanthropic investment and a state-issued "Arizona Vision Kit" for schools.

What "Going Undiagnosed" Actually Means

We hear this question a lot: does it really matter if a kid doesn't know they're color blind? Yes. It matters in ways that compound quietly over years.

A child who can't distinguish the red and green lines on a map isn't learning geography. They're guessing. A student who struggles to read color-coded data in science class isn't failing the material; they're failing to access it.

Early identification changes outcomes. When teachers know, they can adapt. When parents know, they can advocate. And as EnChroma glasses users from age 5 to 85 will tell you, seeing color clearly for the first time isn't just about aesthetics. It's about access.

Illinois HB 3408 doesn't just test for color blindness. It builds awareness into the system. The requirement that teachers receive state guidance on accommodating color-vision-deficient learners is the piece that could actually shift classroom practice, not just screening statistics.

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The Rest of the World Isn't Doing Much Better

You might assume that other developed countries have this figured out. They don't. We looked at how the U.S. compares globally, and the picture is surprisingly bleak.

• 🇬🇧
  United Kingdom: Screened before, stopped in 2009 The UK used to screen for color blindness at school entry, then removed it from the national Healthy Child Screening Programme in 2009. The result: about 80% of color blind children in the UK now enter secondary school without ever being diagnosed, despite 75% having had an NHS eye test. They went backwards.
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  Australia: Recommends it, doesn't require it Every Australian state has a vision testing program for primary school children, but color vision isn't part of it. The government recommends noting color vision status for future career counseling, but there's no school screening mandate. Parents who want answers have to seek out an optometrist themselves.
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  India: No national guidelines at all India has no national color vision screening guidelines for schools, despite research showing it's a significant and underdiagnosed issue, particularly in certain regions. Researchers are actively calling on the government to act. For now, most children with CVD simply never find out.
• 🇯🇵
  Japan: Had mandatory testing, but as a barrier not a support Japan historically had one of the world's strictest color vision testing policies, but it was used to exclude students from universities and careers, not to help them. Over 55% of Japanese medical universities barred color blind applicants as recently as 1986. The policy was eventually reformed after advocates proved those restrictions were unnecessary. Testing for exclusion is not the same as screening for support.

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We'll be watching this bill closely. If you're in Illinois, or anywhere in the world still without a color vision screening requirement, now is a good time to make some noise. Talk to your school nurse. Ask your pediatrician. And if your child hasn't been screened, we make that part easy too.