Starting School with "Ouch!"
New Vaccination Laws
Vaccinations are one of the most important ways to protect children from serious preventable diseases, like whooping cough, chicken pox, measles, mumps and rubella. An outbreak of measles in 2015 prompted the California legislature to take action on falling vaccination rates, which in some schools had dropped to unsafe levels. Communities where schools have low vaccination rates are at increased risk of sparking outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. That is why California now requires children to be immunized to enroll in school.
Percentage of Fully Vaccinated Kindergarten Students, bySchool Type and School Year, 2009-10 to 2015-16. Source: California Department of Public Health
How is your school doing?
Vaccination rates have varied by school, producing localized areas of risk. The California Department of Public Health Schools has rated schools and child-care facilities by the proportion of students that have received all required vaccines. The higher the "up-to-date" percentage at a school the lower the risk.
How is your school is doing at getting up-to-date? Have a look at this map to check your school and others nearby.
New California Law
No more "personal belief" exemptions
Before 2016, California allowed families to cite personal beliefs to opt out of vaccinations. That has changed. Starting in 2016, parents or guardians of students in any school or child-care facility, whether public or private, will no longer be allowed to submit a personal beliefs exemption to a currently-required vaccine. Children are exempt from immunization requirements only if a parent or guardian submits a written statement from a licensed physician meeting specific requirements.
There are exemptions for a home-based private school or an independent study program with no classroom-based instruction. The California Department of Health provides a web site aptly titled Shots for School that lets you check immunization requirements. (You can also find answers to Frequently Asked Questions.)
Looking for more information on Health and Schools? Check out:
- Ed100 Lesson 2.3 Health, Nutrition and Learning: Are Schools Responsible for Students' Health?
- Health and Academics Go Hand-in-Hand from the California State PTA.
How is your school doing at keeping kids healthy? Has your community done something great to boost immunization rates? We'd like to hear about it! Add your comment, or send us a note!
Thanks, [email protected]
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Carol Kocivar July 23, 2017 at 12:06 pm
here.
Jeff Camp - Founder September 1, 2016 at 11:19 am