Recent Immunization Legislation (K-12) - School & College Legal Services of California

On June 30, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill (SB) 277 into law. Effective January 1, 2016, SB 277 eliminates from the Health and Safety Code the personal-belief exemption that allowed parents or guardians to opt out of immunizations for certain infectious diseases before admission to any private or public elementary or secondary school or daycare center. Students may still be excused from immunization requirements based on physician-verified medical reasons.

LEGAL UPDATE

July 14, 2015

To: Superintendents, Member School Districts

From: Jennifer E. Nix, Schools Legal Counsel

Subject: Recent Immunization Legislation

Memo No. 14-2015

On June 30, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill (SB) 277 into law. Effective January 1, 2016, SB 277 eliminates from the Health and Safety Code[1] the personal-belief exemption that allowed parents or guardians to opt out of immunizations for certain infectious diseases before admission to any private or public elementary or secondary school or daycare center.[2] Students may still be excused from immunization requirements based on physician-verified medical reasons.[3]

Students may continue to submit personal-belief exemptions through December 31, 2015. SB 277 grandfathers in children with personal-belief exemptions who are enrolled in a school district as of January 1, 2016, so long as they remain continuously enrolled in the same school district. Once those students enter kindergarten[4] or seventh grade, their personal-belief exemptions are no longer valid and they must be properly immunized.[5] Thus, after January 1, 2016, a student with a personal-belief exemption is required to be properly immunized when moving from preschool to kindergarten or from sixth grade to seventh grade within a single school district. All personal-belief exemptions will be phased out in seven school years.

Effective July 1, 2016, any student who transfers into your school district is required to be properly immunized, subject to the medical exemption.[6]

A student with a disability who qualifies for an individualized education program (IEP) cannot be prohibited from accessing any special education and related services required by his or her IEP based on immunization requirements.[7]

State immunization requirements do not apply to students enrolled in a “home-based private school” or students enrolled in non-classroom-based independent study programs.[8] Exempted independent study programs are those programs established pursuant to Education Code section 51745. Please contact our office if you have any questions about whether your independent study program falls under the covered programs.

If there is good cause to believe that a student who has not been immunized has been exposed to one of the diseases listed in footnote 5, the student may be temporarily excluded from school until the local health officer determines the student is no longer at risk for transmitting the disease.[9]

Because the effective dates of this legislation are January 1, 2016, and July 1, 2016, no changes to your Annual Notice to Parents for the 2015-2016 school year are necessary at this time. Districts might consider sending a letter to parents of children who are enrolled in preschool in the district and who will be moving to kindergarten in 2016-2017, as well as to parents of children who are in sixth grade, advising that their personal-belief exemptions will not be valid for the 2016-2017 school year. Sample language for such a letter would be:

Please be advised that, pursuant to Senate Bill 277, all students entering kindergarten in the District or advancing from sixth to seventh grade in the District will be required to comply with the immunization requirements of Health and Safety Code section 120335(b), unless the student provides the District with a valid exemption from a licensed physician. Personal-belief exemptions filed with the District will no longer be accepted for District kindergarteners or seventh graders as of the 2016-2017 school year.

Please contact our office with questions regarding this Legal Update or any other legal matter.

The information in this Legal Update is provided as a summary of law and is not intended as legal advice. Application of the law may vary depending on the particular facts and circumstances at issue. We, therefore, recommend that you consult legal counsel to advise you on how the law applies to your specific situation.

[1] Health and Safety Code section 120365 (current).

[2] When SB 277 takes effect on January 1, 2016, state law will not include an exemption from immunization based on religious beliefs.

[3] Effective January 1, 2016, the law provides additional flexibility to exempt a student from immunization for medical reasons. The student’s parent or guardian must file with the district a written statement by a licensed physician to the effect that the physical condition of the child is such, or medical circumstances relating to the child are such, that immunization is not considered safe, indicating the specific nature and probable duration of the medical condition or circumstances, including, but not limited to, family medical history, for which this physician does not recommend immunization. Health and Safety Code section 120370(a).

[4] Children enrolled in transitional kindergarten are subject to this requirement.

[5] Health and Safety Code section 120335(g). State law requires the following vaccinations: (1) Diphtheria; (2) Haemophilus influenza type b; (3) Measles; (4) Mumps; (5) Pertussis (whooping cough); (6) Poliomyelitis; (7) Rubella; (8) Tetanus; (9) Hepatitis B; (10) Varicella (chickenpox); and (11) Any other disease deemed appropriate by HHS. Health and Safety Code section 120335(b).

[6] Health and Safety Code section 120335(g)(3).

[7] Health and Safety Code section 120335(h). This provision does not apply to students with Section 504 Plans.

[8] Health and Safety Code section 120335(f).

[9] Health and Safety Code section 120370(b).

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