IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS
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State laws and rules require compliance with immunization requirements for ALL students on or before the first day of attendance at school. The purpose of the state immunization requirement is to protect the health of the public and individuals against certain vaccine-preventable diseases. Our schools will work with families to ensure compliance with immunization requirements in state law no matter the student’s learning location. This means if a child participates in a school program, regardless of their location, including online or remote learning, they must meet school immunization requirements per RCW 28A.210.080. Please feel free to contact your building school nurse with any questions or concerns.
MEDICALLY VERIFIED RECORDS
BISD has transitioned to using the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Immunization Registry.
This allows school health staff to confidentially and efficiently check student vaccination records. To access the state’s registry, BISD will share student names and birthdates with DOH and follow HIPAA and FERPA compliance requirements.
Most children born and/or vaccinated in Washington already have their information in the state immunization registry. If your student is missing vaccines in the registry, school health staff may ask you for more information about your student’s vaccination history. If a student's vaccination record is from another state or country, the student's local medical provider or school health staff can add this information to the DOH Immunization Registry. Please contact your school nurse in this situation.
The WA DOH Immunization Registry can be directly accessed by parents/guardians/students using MyIR. This is helpful when needing a record of one’s lifetime vaccinations now or in the future.
CONDITIONAL STATUS
If additional immunizations are needed after receiving all immunizations they are eligible to receive before starting school, children may start school in conditional status and remain until the next dose becomes due. Children will then have 30 calendar days to turn in updated records showing they received the missing dose. If additional doses are due, conditional status continues until all required immunizations are complete. If the 30 days expire without updated records, the child must be excluded from further attendance.
CHANGE TO TETANUS, DIPHTHERIA, AND PERTUSSIS (TDAP) VACCINE REQUIREMENT FOR GRADES 7-12
All students entering 7th through 12th grades must have one booster dose of Tdap vaccine.
VACCINATIONS REQUIRED BY WASHINGTON STATE LAW FOR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
Washington state law requires school-age children to receive specific immunizations in order to attend school. BISD works with the Washington State Department of Health to comply with state laws on required vaccinations. https://doh.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2023-01/348-295-ParentSchoolChart2023-2024.pdf?uid=64aef5ab9fb06
CERTIFICATE OF EXEMPTION (COE) FORMS
If you are requesting an exemption from one or more of the immunization requirements, you must provide the school a completed certificate of exemption (COE) form on file in the school office. Parents/guardians must complete the form and turn it in to the school before the student can start school.
Please note: in May 2019, Governor Inslee signed House Bill 1638, which removes the personal and philosophical option to exempt children from the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine required for school and child care attendance. Learn more about the new requirements here: https://www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Schools/Immunization/ExemptionLawChange
For more information: Washington State Department of Health has more information about required vaccinations. To read the state law, click here: https://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=28A.210.080Updated August 2023
