5141.3(R) Health Examinations and Immunizations, Regulation

NORTHFIELD BOARD OF EDUCATION FILE CODE: 5141.3

Northfield, New Jersey

Regulation

HEALTH EXAMINATIONS AND IMMUNIZATIONS PROCEDURE

A principal shall not knowingly permit a child to attend school if the parents/guardians have not submitted acceptable evidence of the child’s immunization, according to law.

Medical Exemptions

1. A child shall not be required to have any specific immunization(s) which are medically contraindicated.
2. A written statement must be submitted to the school from a physician licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy or a certified registered nurse practitioner in any jurisdiction of the United States indicating that an immunization is medically contraindicated for a specific period of time, and the reason(s) for the medical contraindication, based upon valid medical reasons as enumerated by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the United States Public Health Service or the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines.
3. The physician’s or certified registered nurse practitioner’s statement shall be retained as part of the child’s immunization record and shall be reviewed annually by the school nurse. When the child’s medical condition permits immunization, this exemption shall be terminated and the child shall be required to obtain the immunization(s) from which he of she has been exempted.

Exclusion from School

1. This district shall comply with the provisions of law regarding attendance at school by students or adults infected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Any student with HIV infection or AIDS or who lives with or is related to someone with HIV or AIDS shall not be excluded from general education, transportation services, extracurricular activities, athletic activities, assigned to home instruction or classified as eligible for special education because of the HIV infection. The school nurse shall recommend the exclusion of any individual with weeping skin lesions that cannot be covered.

Religious Exemptions

1. A child shall be exempted from mandatory immunization if the parents/guardians submit a written statement to the school, signed by the parents/guardians, explaining how the administration of immunizing agents conflicts with the student’s exercise of bona fide religious tenets or practices. General philosophical or moral objection to immunization shall not be sufficient for an exemption on religious grounds.
2. This statement will be kept by the school, preschool, or child care center as part of the child’s immunization record.
3. Those children enrolled in school before September 1, 1991, and who have previously been granted a religious exemption, shall not be required to reapply for a new religious exemption.

Provisional Admissions

1. A student shall be admitted to a school on a provisional basis if a physician, certified registered nurse practitioner, or health department can document at least one dose of each required age-appropriate vaccine(s) or antigen(s) has been administered and that the student is in the process of receiving the remaining immunization(s).
2. Provisional status shall only be granted one time to children entering or transferring into schools or preschools in New Jersey. Information on this status shall be sent by the original school or preschool to the new school pursuant law.
3. If at the end of the provisional admission period the child has not completed the required immunizations, the principal shall exclude the child from continued school attendance until appropriate documentation has been presented.
4. Those students with medical exemptions, religious exemptions or provisional admissions to receiving specific immunizations may be excluded from the school during a vaccine-preventable disease outbreak or threatened outbreak as determined by the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services.

Documents Accepted as Evidence of Immunization

1. The following documents shall be accepted as evidence of a child’s immunization history provided that the type of immunization and the date when each immunization was administered is listed:
   1. An official school record from any school, preschool, or child care center;
   2. A record from any public health department; or
   3. A certificate signed by a physician licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy or a certified registered nurse practitioner in any jurisdiction of the United States.
2. All immunization records submitted by a parents/guardians in a language other than English shall be accompanied by a translation sufficient to determine compliance with the immunization requirements of this subchapter.
3. Documents must include the specific date, i.e., month, day and year of each vaccine/antigen. Physician statements or documentation such as “child fully immunized” or “series complete” are unacceptable. Parental verbal history or recollection of previous immunization is unacceptable documentation.

Records Required

1. Every school shall maintain an official State of New Jersey School Immunization Record for every student. This record shall include the date of each immunization and shall be separated from the child’s other medical records for purpose of immunization record audit.
2. If a child withdraws, is promoted, or transfers to another school, the immunization record, or a certified copy thereof, along with statements pertaining to religious or medical exemptions and laboratory evidence of immunity shall be sent to the new school by the original school or shall be given to the parents/guardians upon request, within 24 hours of such a request.
3. When a child graduates from secondary school, this record, or a certified copy thereof, shall be sent to an institution of higher education or may be given to the parents/guardians upon request.
4. Each child’s official New Jersey School Immunization Record, or a certified copy thereof, shall be retained by every secondary school for a minimum of four years after the student has left the school. Every elementary school shall retain an immunization record, or a copy thereof, for a minimum of one year after the child has left the school.
5. Any computer-generated document or list developed by a school, preschool or center shall be considered a supplement to, and not a replacement of, the official New Jersey School Immunization Record.

Reports to be Sent to the Department of Health and Senior Services

1. A report of the immunization status of the students in every school shall be sent each year to the Department of Health and Senior Services by the principal of the school.
2. A copy of this report shall be sent to the local board of health.

Records Available for Inspection

Each school shall maintain records of their children’s immunization status. Upon 24-hour notice, these records shall be made available for inspection by authorize representatives of the Department of Health and Senior Services or the local board of health.