COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 530
(By Senators Boley, White and Bowman)
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[Originating in the Committee on Education;
reported February 19, 2010.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §16-3-4 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to requiring all children entering
school for the first time in the state as a condition of
enrollment to demonstrate that they have been immunized
against diphtheria, polio, rubeola, rubella, tetanus and
whooping cough; providing medical and nonmedical exemptions;
providing the temporary suspension of an exemption during
health emergencies; requiring school personnel to notify
identified officials of anyone coming into a school who has
not been immunized; and granting the Commissioner of the
Bureau for Public Health with rule-making authority.
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 the parents of the
newborn child with information on immunizations, including those
mandated by this state for admission to a school in this state.
(b) Except as provided in this subsection, all children
entering school for the first time in this state as a condition of
enrollment shall demonstrate that they have been immunized against
diphtheria, polio, rubeola, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough. A
child may be exempt from the requirements of this section as
follows:
(1)
Medical exemption. -- A parent or guardian of a child
entering a school in this state for the first time may request a
medical exemption from a required vaccination. The request shall be
accompanied with a certificate signed by a physician who is duly
registered and licensed to practice medicine in the United States
that sets forth the basis of his or her medical opinion that
immunization for diphtheria, polio, rubeola, rubella, tetanus or
whooping cough is medically impossible or improper.
(2)
Nonmedical exemption. -- A parent or guardian with a
strongly held conscientious or religious belief that has a minor
child entering a school of this state for the first time may
request a nonmedical exemption from the required vaccination. The
request shall be accompanied by:
(A) A statement signed by the parent or guardian stating what
the conscientious or religious belief is and setting forth the
basis of the reasons that immunization for diphtheria, polio,
rubeola, rubella, tetanus or whooping cough is inappropriate; and
(B) A statement signed by the parent or guardian stating that
he or she has read and understood materials prepared by the
commissioner that explain the nature of the diseases, the benefits
of each vaccine and the risks both to the child and the public
associated with the failure to vaccinate.
(3)
General requirement for exemptions. -- If an exemption is
permitted, a copy of the commissioner's approval and a copy of the
physician's medical certificate or the parent's nonmedical
statement shall be submitted to the appropriate public health
official. If the health official does not send a copy to the
appropriate school official the parent may seek review from the
commissioner.
(c) The commissioner may temporarily suspend an exemption
permitted by subsection (b) of this section during a health
emergency. The exempted student may return to school when the
health emergency has been resolved or abated and the commissioner
approves the student's return.
(d) Any teacher, school nurse or other school official having
information concerning any person who attempts to enter a school
without having been immunized against diphtheria, polio, rubeola,
rubella, tetanus or whooping cough shall inform the appropriate
school official, health official or the commissioner. (e) Health officials and health care providers providing
immunizations shall give to all persons who have been immunized a
certificate, at no cost, verifying that they have been immunized
against diphtheria, polio, rubeola, rubella, tetanus or whooping
cough.
(f) The commissioner shall propose rules for legislative
approval pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code, to implement this section, including the statements and
materials identified in this section. However, any changes to the
required vaccinations remains the sole discretion of the
Legislature.
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