SB 530 Text

Senate Bill No. 530
(By Senators Boley, White and Bowman)
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[Introduced February 10, 2010; referred to the Committee on Education; and then to the Committee on Health and Human Resources.]
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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 in the state 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 in this state must 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 must 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 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 his or her minor child entering a school of this state for the first time may request a nonmedical exemption from the required vaccination. The request must be accompanied with:
(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 is to 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.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require all children entering school in this state to demonstrate that they have been immunized against diphtheria, polio, rubeola, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough. The bill provides medical and nonmedical exemptions. The bill provides the temporary suspension of an exemption during health emergencies. The bill also requires school personnel to inform identified officials of anyone coming into a school who has not been immunized. The bill grants the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health with rulemaking authority.

This section has been completely rewritten; therefore, strike- throughs and underscoring have been omitted

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