Minimum Immunizations Requirements For School Attendance

Section 2164 of the Public Health Law requires that students entering preschool or grades K-12 must demonstrate EITHER A, B, C, or D or E, or they are not considered fully registered, and may not enter a building. Please note that for immunizations with mandated ages, the nurse may not accept an immunization as valid if it is more than four days outside

the mandated age.

The district also requires that all students who have been living outside the United States for longer than six weeks and are entering from the Near, Middle, or Far East, Eastern Europe, Mexico, Central or South America, and Africa show proof of tuberculosis testing and appropriate follow up care if positive.

Please note that positive serology laboratory reports submitted by your physician, nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant are acceptable as alternatives for the following vaccines only: MMR, Varicella, Hepatitis B, and Polio. Lab reports for all other diseases are not acceptable. Equivocal results are not acceptable.

Immunization requirements are complex and the district strongly encourages you to discuss with your private physician, nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant your childs complete immunization status, regardless of age or grade.

Students entering preschool or grades K-12 must fulfill EITHER A, B, C, or D. Complex regulations require that you check with your physician or other health care provider to ensure your child meets age and grade requirements.

A. A signed CERTIFICATE OF IMMUNIZATION, or a signed statement from a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant*, or a New York State immunization registry record, or a signed out-of-state immunization registry, or laboratory reports showing unequivocal immunity to Polio, Varicella, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Hepatitis B, or immunization records forwarded from previous school, all showing that a child has completed or has a return appointment and is in process of completing the following series of vaccines, as appropriate for age and grade:

1. DIPHTHERIA, TETANUS, PERTUSSIS, AND

2. POLIO, AND

3. MEASLES, MUMPS, RUBELLA, AND

4. HEPATITIS B, AND

5. VARICELLA, OR

6. FOR PRESCHOOL ADD HAEMOPHILUS INFLUENZA TYPE B AND PNEUMOCOCCAL

OR

B. IN-PROCESS: A statement from the treating physician, nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant* which shows the immunizations are in process, the child has received at least one dose of any age/grade appropriate vaccine, (or alternative proof as outlined in section [A] above) AND has a return appointment to continue the immunization process AND is not outside the minimal interval for revaccination, such as a missed appointment,

OR

C. MEDICAL EXEMPTION: Written evidence from the treating physician nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant* licensed to practice medicine in this state stating that there is a medical contraindication for one or more specified required immunizations, citing the specific vaccine, the specific duration of exemption, and the specific medical contraindication based on The Centers for Disease Control published standards AND as approved by the school medical director (Note: NYSED forms for medical exemptions are available from the school nurse),

D. HOMELESSNESS: When a family has a state of homelessness, entry is not denied for lack of immunizations or proof of immunizations; however, the school nurse will work with the family to get immunizations done for the child’s protection.

NOTE: TUBERCULOSIS (TB):

A TB test done within 12 months prior to school registration is required for any student entering the district who has had extended (greater than six weeks) domicile or travel in or from any country except USA, Canada, or Western Europe.

*The treating physician, nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant may not be a family member.