Expanding Access: Telehealth Screenings in California Schools

At Backstage Health, we’re proud to collaborate with the California Telehealth Resource Center (CTRC) on a two-part article series exploring how telehealth can help schools provide essential vision and hearing screenings.

The first article, “Essential Tools for California Schools Telehealth Vision and Hearing Screenings: Part 1” co-authored by Sylvia Trujillo, JD, MPP (Executive Director of CTRC) and Miguel Angel Del Villar, BSN, RN, CSN (CEO of Backstage Health), highlights the critical importance of early detection—especially for students with special needs.

Children with developmental or physical disabilities often face additional barriers to receiving timely screenings. For example, vision challenges in a child with autism may be overlooked or mistaken for behavioral concerns, while hearing difficulties in a student with cerebral palsy may go undetected because their primary condition draws the most attention. Without screenings, these students risk delayed interventions that can affect learning, communication, and development.

How Telehealth Helps Schools Bridge the Gap

Schools across California are turning to telehealth as a practical solution when staffing or resources are limited. Rather than replacing traditional in-person services, telehealth complements them by making screenings more accessible, consistent, and student-friendly.

Through telehealth:

• Students connect virtually with credentialed school nurses.

• Licensed providers remotely operate tools such as audiometers and digital visual acuity optotypes in real time.

• Screenings are performed at proper distances and frequencies, while keeping the experience familiar and comfortable for students.

• For hearing screenings, students wear headphones and press a button when they hear a tone. For vision screenings, they read letters from a digital screen at different distances.

This model is especially effective for students with special needs, as it allows screenings to take place in familiar environments, reduces anxiety, and ensures flexibility around IEP requirements and therapy schedules.

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Compliance Still Matters

Telehealth introduces flexibility, but schools must still meet California’s strict requirements for vision and hearing screenings.

• Vision screenings are required at school entry and every third year through grade eight, typically in kindergarten/first grade, and in grades two, five, and eight.

• Hearing screenings are mandated at school entry, and again in kindergarten/first, second, fifth, eighth, and tenth/eleventh grades, and must be conducted by a certified school audiometrist.

All screenings must be performed with state-approved equipment, by properly credentialed providers. When contracting services for IEP-related screenings, providers must be certified as a Nonpublic Agency (NPA).

Using telehealth does not waive these standards—it ensures schools can meet them, even when staffing is limited.

A Shared Mission

Our collaboration with CTRC reflects a shared commitment: to expand access to essential health services so that every California student can thrive. By combining digital innovation with practical school-based solutions, we can help districts close gaps in care while maintaining compliance and equity.

📖 Read the full article here: Essential Tools for California Schools: Telehealth Vision and Hearing Screenings – Part 1

Stay tuned for Part 2, which will explore evidence-based benefits, long-term monitoring, and more resources for schools building sustainable telehealth programs.