Policy 5141.31 - Immunizations

Immunizations

To protect the health of all students and staff and to curtail the spread of infectious diseases, the Board of Education shall cooperate with the state and local public health agencies to encourage and facilitate immunization of all district students against preventable diseases.

Each student enrolling for the first time in a district elementary or secondary school, preschool, or childcare and development program or advancing to grade seven shall present an immunization record from any authorized private or public health care provider certifying that they have has received all required immunizations in accordance with law. Students shall be excluded from school or exempted from immunization requirements only as allowed by law.

Transfer Students
To enroll in school, all transfer students must present a written immunization record which shows at least the month and year of each immunization. The student shall receive all required immunizations currently due before they are admitted to school. Such evidence may include the student’s personal immunization record from their authorized health care provider or their cumulative file from their previous school.

The Superintendent or designee may arrange for an authorized health care provider to administer immunizations at school to any student whose parent/guardian has consented in writing. Parents/guardians shall be notified of their right to provide consent for the administration of an immunization to their child at school.

Rule 5141.31

Adopted: 02/20/2001

Last Revised: 08/06/2024

Last Reviewed: 08/06/2024

Upon enrollment, students must present evidence of full immunization.

The Superintendent or designee shall not unconditionally admit any student to a district school, preschool, or childcare and development program for the first time nor admit or advance any student to grade 7, unless the student has been fully immunized. The student shall present documentation of full immunization, in accordance with the age/grade and dose required by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), against the following diseases:

1. Measles, mumps, and rubella
2. Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough)
3. Poliomyelitis (polio) 
4. Hepatitis B
5. Varicella (chickenpox)
6. Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib meningitis)
7. Any other disease deemed appropriate by CDPH

A student who qualifies for an individualized education program (IEP), unless otherwise exempt, shall be fully immunized in accordance with Health and Safety Code 120335. The district shall continue to implement the student’s IEP and shall not prohibit the student from accessing special education and related services regardless of whether the student is fully immunized.

School personnel shall record information for each student regarding all doses of required immunizations and the status of all requirements.  The school records shall be based on immunization records provided by the student’s health care provider, from the student’s previous school immunization record, or through the California Immunization Registry (CAIR).

Exemptions
Exemption from one or more immunization requirements shall be granted under the following circumstances:

1. A medical exemption is submitted and approved through the CDPH’s CAIR system.
   
   A medical exemption issued prior to January 1, 2020 shall allow continued enrollment until the next grade span, except after July 1, 2021, a student may not be admitted or advanced to grade 7 unless the student has been immunized or a medical exemption form filed as stated above.  A temporary exemption shall not exceed one year, and all medical exemptions shall not extend beyond the grade span.
   
   If a student’s medical exemption is revoked by CDPH, the student shall continue in attendance, but must commence the immunization schedule required for conditional admittance within 30 days of the revoked exemption pursuant to 17 CCR 6050.
   
   The student’s parent/guardian may appeal a revocation to the Secretary of California Health and Human Services. If appealed, the student shall continue in attendance and not be required to commence the immunization schedule for conditional admittance pending the outcome of the appeal, provided the appeal is filed within 30 calendar days of the revocation.
    
2. The student’s parent/guardian filed with the district, before January 1, 2016, a letter or written affidavit stating that immunization is contrary to personal beliefs, the student shall be exempted from the immunization until the student enrolls in the next grade span (birth to preschool, grades K‐6, grades 7‐12).
    
3. The student is enrolled in an independent study program and does not receive classroom‐based instruction pursuant to Education Code 51745‐51749.6.

Conditional Enrollment
The Superintendent or designee may conditionally admit a student with documentation from an authorized health care provider that the student has not received all immunizations required but has commenced receiving doses of required vaccines and is not due for any other doses at the time of admission. The Superintendent or designee shall notify the student’s parents/guardians of the date by which the student must complete all the remaining doses as specified in 17 CCR 6035.

In addition, a transfer student may be conditionally admitted for up to 30 school days while the student’s immunization records are being transferred from the previous school. If such documentation is not presented within 30 days, the student shall be excluded from school until the required immunizations have been administered.

The Superintendent or designee shall immediately enroll homeless students, foster youth, and students of military families even if their immunization records are missing or unavailable at the time of enrollment. School or district staff shall work with the student’s prior school to obtain the student’s immunization records or shall ensure that the student is properly immunized.

The Superintendent or designee shall review the immunization record of each student admitted conditionally every 30 days until that student has received all the required immunizations. If the student does not receive the required immunizations within the specified time limits, the student shall be excluded from further attendance until the immunizations are received.

Exclusions Due to Lack of Immunizations
Before an already admitted student is excluded from school attendance because of lack of immunization, the Superintendent or designee shall notify the parent/guardian that the student has 10 school days to supply evidence of proper immunization or an appropriate letter of exemption.

The Superintendent or designee shall exclude from further attendance any already admitted student who fails to obtain the required immunization within 10 school days following the parent/guardian’s receipt of the notice specified above. The student shall remain excluded from school until they have received a dose of each required vaccine due.  The student shall also be reported to the attendance supervisor or principal.

Conditional Enrollment
The district may conditionally admit a child with documentation from an authorized health care provider that:

1. The child has received some but not all required immunizations and is not due for any vaccine dose at the time of admission, or
2. The child has a temporary exemption from immunization for medical reasons authorized through the CAIR ME public health immunization system.

Continued attendance after conditional admission shall depend upon the student’s receiving the remaining required immunizations according to schedule or when the temporary exemption ends.

The Superintendent or designee shall review the immunization record of each student admitted conditionally until that student has received all the required immunizations. If the student does not receive the required immunizations within the specified time limits, the student shall be excluded from further attendance until the immunizations are received.

Exclusion Due to Exposure to Disease
If the district has good cause to believe that a student has been exposed to a disease listed in the section ʺImmunizationsʺ above and the student’s documentation of immunization does not show proof of immunization, that student may be temporarily excluded from the school until the local health officer is satisfied that the student is no longer at risk of developing or transmitting the disease.

Records
The Superintendent or designee shall record each new entrant’s immunizations in the California School Immunization Record and retain it as part of the student’s mandatory permanent student record. District staff shall maintain the confidentiality of immunizations records and may disclose such information to state and local health departments only in accordance with law.