Senate Bill No. 697
(By Senators Boley and White)
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[Introduced March 23, 2009; referred to the Committee on Health
and Human Resources; then to the Committee on Education; and then
to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §16-3-4 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to providing medical and nonmedical
exemptions from mandatory immunizations for school children;
requiring parental or guardian affidavit of conscientious or
religious belief; requiring parents and guardians to assert
their beliefs in an affidavit and to present an affidavit
affirming that they have completed an educational course
regarding the risks and benefits of immunizations; providing
that the affidavit be provided before the exemption may apply;
providing rule-making authority to the Commissioner of the
Bureau for Public Health; and providing that the Legislature
has the sole authority to add or delete required vaccinations
or exemptions for school attendance.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §16-3-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF COMMUNICABLE AND OTHER
INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
§16-3-4. Compulsory immunization of school children; information
disseminated; offenses; penalties.
(a) When a resident birth occurs, the Commissioner of the
Bureau for Public Health shall promptly provide parents of the
newborn child with information on immunizations, including those
mandated by this state for admission to a school in this state.
(b) All children entering school in this state must be age
appropriately immunized against diphtheria, polio, rubeola,
rubella, tetanus, whooping cough. Any person who cannot give
satisfactory proof of having been immunized previously or who does
not have a current certificate of exemption shall be immunized for
diphtheria, polio, rubeola, rubella, tetanus, whooping cough prior
to being admitted to the schools of this state. Satisfactory proof
of immunization shall be provided to the school in the form of the
certificate of immunization. The certificate of immunization shall
be developed by the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health's
immunization program. Beginning July 1, 2009, the certificate of
immunization shall be made available to health care providers and
school systems to document the immunization records of school children. A parent or guardian may be exempt as follows:
(1) Medical exemption. -- A parent or guardian of a child
entering the schools of this state for the first time may request
a medical exemption from a required vaccination for his or her
minor child if the parent or guardian of the child or ward presents
a certificate signed by a physician who is duly registered and
licensed to practice medicine in the United States which sets forth
the opinion and the basis of the opinion of the physician examining
the child or ward that immunization of the child or ward is
medically impossible or improper for any or all of the following
diseases including diphtheria, polio, rubeola, rubella, tetanus,
whooping cough, or, because of another compelling medical reason
immunization of the child or ward for any or all of the following
diseases including diphtheria, polio, rubeola, rubella, tetanus,
whooping cough and any other disease requiring vaccination as
established by rule by the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public
Health should not be required for public school attendance; and
(2) Nonmedical exemption. -- A parent or guardian with a
strongly held conscientious or religious belief that his or her
minor child or ward should not be subject to a required
immunization as provided in this section, may seek an exemption
from any or all required vaccinations for his or her minor child
entering the schools of this state for the first time as follows:
(A) The parent or guardian signs a statement on a form provided by the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health which
includes a list of required immunizations to allow a parent or
guardian to request an exemption for his or her child from any or
all of the required immunizations. In the statement, the parent or
guardian shall state the conscientious or religious belief and
shall indicate the specific vaccines for which an exemption is
being requested;
(B) The parent or guardian reads written materials prepared by
the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health, not to exceed
thirty pages, explaining the nature of the risks of the failure to
vaccinate a child and the benefits of each vaccine for which a
child shall be exempt. After reading the written materials, the
parent or guardian shall, by his or her signature on the materials,
indicate he or she has read and understood the materials.
(C) General requirement for exemptions. -- A parent or
guardian shall provide a copy of the physicians certificate or
parent statement of religious or conscientious beliefs to a public
health officer, designated for that purpose by the Commissioner of
the Bureau for Public Health. If the physician's certificate or
parental statement is proper, he or she shall forthwith transmit a
copy to the principal of the school in which the child is enrolled
or seeks enrollment. If he or she refuses to transmit a copy to
the principal because the certificate or statement is not proper,
he or she shall provide the parent or guardian with a written statement specifying the deficiencies, and provide the parents an
opportunity to resubmit the certificate or statement. If he or she
rejects the certificate or statement again, the parents may seek
review through the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health.
(3) The Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health or his or
her designated public health officer may temporarily suspend an
exemption for a student who is not immunized and exclude the
student from attending school during an outbreak or health
emergency. The student may not return or be admitted to school
until the outbreak or health emergency has been resolved and the
Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health or his or her designee
approves the return or admittance to school. When a public health
emergency has been declared relating to a communicable disease,
citizens identified as being infected with the declared disease may
be subjected to humane quarantine using the least restrictive means
possible, in order to prevent the spreading of disease.
Additionally, quarantine and isolation must be by the least
restrictive means necessary to prevent the spread of a communicable
disease to others and may include, but is not limited to,
confinement to private homes. No child or person may be admitted
or received in any of the schools of the state, except as otherwise
provided in this section, until he or she has been immunized.
Any teacher, school nurse or other school official having
information concerning any person who attempts to enter school without having been immunized against diphtheria, polio, rubeola,
rubella, tetanus and whooping cough. The Commissioner of the
Bureau for Public Health shall report the name of the person to the
designated public health officer. It is the duty of the
Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health or his or her
designated public health officer to see that persons are immunized
before entering school or are exempt.
(c) Health officers and health care providers providing
immunizations shall give to all persons and children a certificate
free of charge showing that they have been immunized against
diphtheria, polio, rubeola, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough.
Health officers and health care providers may give the certificate
to any person or child whom he or she knows to have been immunized
against diphtheria, polio, rubeola, rubella, tetanus and whooping
cough.
(d) The Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health shall
propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, to
implement the provisions of this section, addressing the issue of
school transfers, reporting requirements for each county related to
the exemptions and the membership of the immunization advisory
committee as provided in section five of this article: Provided,
That any additions or deletions of required vaccinations or
exemptions shall be the sole authority of the Legislature.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
provide medical and
nonmedical exemptions from mandatory immunizations for school
children; require parental or guardian affidavit of conscientious
or religious belief; require parents and guardians to assert their
beliefs in an affidavit and to present an affidavit affirming that
they have completed an educational course regarding the risks and
benefits of immunizations; provide that the affidavit be provided
before the exemption may apply; provide rule-making authority to
the Commissioner of the Bureau
for
Public Health;
and provide that
the Legislature has the sole authority to add or delete required
vaccinations or exemptions for school attendance.
This section has been completely rewritten; therefore, strike-
throughs and underscoring have been omitted.