In efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19, 46 states and Washington, D.C. had closed what are deemed to be nonessential businesses as of April 3. The designation of essential versus nonessential businesses, however, varies from state to state.

In 2017, the Opticians Association of Ohio was in crisis when the Ohio Optical Dispensers Board (Ohio’s opticianry licensing board) was voted out of existence and replaced by the Ohio Vision Professionals Board.

Wear Your Name Tag: Show off your certification and/or your license number. Help the consumer understand who you are and what makes you special.

Bob Reynolds, OAA President, reports that there is a surge in attempts to deregulate or consolidate licensed professions by doing away with or combining state licensing boards. Attempts at deregulation have been made recently in Ohio, Arizona, Virginia and Florida, with more states certain to follow. You may recall that the OAA was instrumental in assisting opticians in Virginia, where a bill to deregulate opticians died in committee.