Parents Told They Now Have To Vaccinate Their Kids In Order To Enroll Them In School
ALBANY Now that there is no longer a religious exemption to mandated vaccines for New York school children, a handful of small private schools in the Capital Region are grappling with parents who havent vaccinated their kids.
Operators of Waldorf schools in Saratoga Springs and Columbia County as well as Montessori schools in Rensselaer and Albany counties all say they will follow the law, which no longer allows religious exemptions for measles, mumps and rubella vaccines that are required for attendance in public and private schools.
Unclear, however, is how many students of these private schools might simply stay home rather than get vaccinated. Some educators also wonder if the lawsuits that are expected to be filed to block the new law may restore the exemption, even if only temporarily.
With the state at the epicenter of a national measles outbreak, the state legislature in June passed a bill that bans religious exemptions for vaccines. The law took immediate effect when it was signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The move, which sparked an outcry among vaccine opponents but was welcome by many public health experts, came amid the largest measles outbreak in 27 years. More than 800 measles cases have been reported in New York alone.
Most scientists and health experts say vaccines for diseases like measles are safe and effective, but a minority of parents distrusts them.
Tolleson Union High School District
Starting Oct. 18, all persons, including but not limited to staff, students, vendors, visitors, and volunteers, shall wear a cloth face covering while indoors on any district property, in any district facility, at any district event, and in any district vehicle, including district buses or vehicles rented or leased by the district.
School Starts Soonis Your Child Fully Vaccinated
Make sure your children are up to date on their vaccines before sending them back to school.
School-age children from preschoolers to college students need vaccines. Getting your child all their vaccinations on time is one of the most important things you can do as a parent to ensure your childrens long-term healthas well as the health of friends, classmates, and others in your community.
The Georgia Immunization Program hasonline resources and tools to help you make sure your kids are up to date on recommended vaccines and protected from serious diseases. Use the childhood vaccine quiz to see what vaccines your child needs, at any age. If you find out your child needs any vaccines to protect them against any of the 16 serious diseases, schedule a visit with your doctor to get caught up.
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Littleton Elementary School District
The Littleton Elementary School District has announced on Facebook it will require all staff and students to wear masks unless they are outside, actively eating or drinking or have a documented medical condition on file in the school health office due to the rising infection rates in the district. Previously, the district only required masks for visitors.
Catalina Foothills School District
The Catalina Foothills School District on Aug. 16 said it will require universal indoor masking by all students, staff, teachers and visitors on all its school campuses, it said in a Monday letter to parents. This policy applies to vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Masks will be optional outdoors.
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Higher Ground Education Funding Covid
Higher Ground urges state health departments to prioritize teachers and school staff for COVID-19 vaccinations. The company will help subsidize any vaccination costs incurred by its 2,000+ staff members
Melissa McElhill
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, Higher Ground Education is urging state health departments to prioritize teachers and school staff for COVID-19 vaccinations. But its also putting its money where its mouth is: In order to protect the health and safety of its employees, Higher Ground is giving all 2,000+ staff paid time off to receive their vaccination if they choose to do so and will help subsidize any vaccination costs not covered by their insurance or federal, state, or local communities. Additionally, all Guidepost Montessori schools will continue to work closely with their respective state health departments on ensuring that teachers and other frontline workers will gain access to the vaccine as soon as it becomes available.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe at work, which is why we want our teachers and frontline workers to gain access to the vaccine as soon as possible,” said Jocelyn Scotty, Vice President of Schools at Higher Ground Education.
The impact of the pandemic has been acutely felt by families unable or unwilling to send their children to school.
School closures remain a concern to Girn, who worries about the long-term impact of keeping children at home without access to any form of education.
Montessori School Of Flagstaff
Starting Oct. 5, the Montessori School of Flagstaff is requiring face masks during school, Late Day programs, after school activities and any school events, it said in an Oct. 1 email to families. The intention for Montessori School of Flagstaff has been to implement a universal mask requirement once lawfully able to do so
The policy applies to all students enrolled in the primary classrooms at the Westside and Sunnyside campuses all students at the Switzer and Cedar campuses and all staff, all parents/guardians, and all visitors at all four Montessori School of Flagstaff campuses.
Face masks must be worn in all hallways, public spaces and common areas. Staff will determine exceptions to these rules, including instances when students and staff are outdoors, and while eating or drinking. Younger children will not wear masks while napping. Students will be offered breaks to remove face coverings in a safe environment.
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Vaccines For Your Young Children
During the early years of life, your children need vaccines to protect them from 14 diseases that can be serious and sometimes life-threatening. Parents who choose not to vaccinate their children increase the risk of disease not only for their own children, but also for other children and adults throughout the entire community. For example, vulnerable newborns too young to receive the maximum protection of vaccines or people with weakened immune systems, such as transplant recipients or some people with cancer, are also at higher risk of disease.
Flu vaccines are recommended for children 6 months and older. Getting the flu vaccine for yourself and your children can help protect infants younger than 6 months old who are too young to be vaccinated. Ask your health care provider about getting a yearly flu vaccine to protect against flu.Parents can find out what vaccines their children need and when by reviewing CDCs recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule.
Mps Opens 40 Schools Monday Considers Vaccine Mandate As Covid Shuts Down Schools Elsewhere
As Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and school staff clapped and waved pom poms Monday to frame a red-carpet entrance at MacDowell Montessori, some students waved and smiled under their masks for the news cameras, while others shrank against their parents legs or darted inside carrying their boxes of tissues.
This is going to be his first interaction in a large social setting really, Tyler Hart said of his 4-year-old son, who was waiting patiently in line. Its going to be a new experience for him but were excited to see him in that element and see, like, what person comes out.
It was the first day of school for students at 40 of the 152 Milwaukee Public Schools. With masks required, windows open and plexiglass partitions still between many desks, staff and families said they were eager to return to learning and socializing in person despite some fears about COVID. Other MPS schools start Sept. 2.
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The reopening comes on the heels of a surge in COVID cases tied to the highly contagious delta variant, which has caused alarm especially for younger children who cant yet be vaccinated. As of 4 p.m. Monday, 13 COVID cases were reported in MPS students and staff that day.
In some other areas where schools have opened, including Kentucky, New Mexico and Georgia, some districts have already closed schools again in hopes of containing outbreaks.
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Florida School Vaccinations Required But Not Mandatory
LEON COUNTY, Fla. – Leon County requires all students to be vaccinated. Some parents believe the government should be better about informing the public about all of their options.
Under Florida Law, vaccinations are required of all students attending public school, but they’re not mandatory.
According to Florida Law, children can be exempt from vaccinations if the child is unable to be vaccinated for a medical reason. The state of Florida allows exemptions for religious purposes.
“As with any medical intervention, there are benefits and also risk and nothing is one size fit all. They’re are people, their bodies cannot handle the toxic load that vaccines put in them,” said Mackenzie Fraser, Co-Founder of Health Freedom Florida.
Even though there are a few ways to stop your child from getting vaccinations, the Florida Department of Health says vaccinations are required because they are proven to prevent illnesses.
“Vaccination has been one of the most successful health endeavors,” said Kristi Hamilton, Leon County Florida Department of Heath Clinic Manger. “Just think about Polio. It’s no longer in existence in the United States and it’s only in a couple of countries in the world. That’s due to the power of vaccinations.”
But not everyone agrees.
The Leon County School District says if your child doesn’t get immunized and does not have an exemption, they will not be allowed to register for school until they satisfy the requirement.
Immunization Laws For Kindergarten
Changes to Minnesotas Immunization laws have been in affect since September 1, 2014. For complete information please see the Minnesota Health Departments web site about the changes.
The new vaccines that will require documentation of immunization or a legal exemption include:
- Hepatitis B For all children over 2 months old enrolled or enrolling in child care or an early childhood program.
- Hepatitis A For all children over 12 months old enrolled or enrolling in child care or an early childhood program.
- Tdap For all students entering seventh grade. Students in eighth through 12th grade must show documentation if the school requests it. This replaces the Td immunization requirement.
- Meningitis For all students entering seventh grade. Students entering eighth through 12th grade must show documentation if the school requests it.
Immunization Requirements for Childrens House
New to Minnesotas Immunization Law are early childhood programs which include programs that provide instructional or other services to support childrens learning and development and:
- Serve children from birth to kindergarten.
- Meet at least once a week for at least six weeks or more during the year.
Children enrolled or enrolling in these types of programs must provide proof of immunizations or have a legal exemption for:
- DTaP
- Hepatitis B
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States Have Not Required Covid
About half of states have prioritized teachers for vaccines. Kentucky rushed to offer vaccinations to about 83,000 school employees who said they wanted it. Oregon’s governor prioritized teachers over the elderly for vaccines, although that still didn’t result in overwhelming numbers of classrooms reopening, largely because of teachers union fears about safety.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine offered districts a deal: If they wanted early access to the vaccine for employees, they had to promise to reopen for at least some classroom instruction by March 1. But there has been no talk of discipline for any that don’t. Akron Public Schools pushed back its reopening date to March 22 so all teachers who want the vaccine can receive both doses.
New school guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released last week, did not call for all teachers to be vaccinated as part of the strategy to reopening buildings. Instead, the guidance said schools could reopen safely for at least some in-person learning, even amid moderate levels of community transmission, by faithfully wearing masks, keeping some physical distance and following other mitigation strategies.
CDC guidance:Teacher vaccinations are not a must, 6 feet separation advised
Biden’s press secretary had said reopening might mean just one day a week of instruction Biden called that a miscommunication.
A vaccine requirement? That wouldn’t come from the federal government, experts say
Vaccination Requirements: Primary School
From 1 April 2018, all school principals are required to request an immunisation certificate at enrolment.
While students can still be enrolled if an approved immunisation certificate is not provided, these children will be considered unimmunised and maybe excluded from school if there is an outbreak of a vaccine preventable disease at the school OR if they come into contact with a person with a vaccine preventable disease, even if there is no outbreak at the school.
Parents are encouraged to ensure that their children are up to date with their immunisation and to provide and immunisation certificate from the Australian Immunisation Register at enrolment, either:
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Tanque Verde Unified School District
The Tanque Verde Unified School District’s governing board voted on Nov. 9 to require masks for its Pre-K through sixth grade students through Dec. 17 given a recent increase in community transmission levels and the most recent outbreak that closed Agua Caliente Elementary School. In addition, the board voted to discontinue whole school events for these grade levels until the end of January.
Families Left Without Buses
Some MPS families were left scrambling to get their students to school Monday as they were still trying to get answers from the district about whether there would be buses to pick them up.
Parents were caught by surprise last month by notifications that the district would not be providing school busses for high school students who live more than seven miles from school. Though the cost-saving decision was made by school board members in 2019, many parents said they werent told until recently.
Students outside the radius were given options to appeal the decision, use county transit buses with passes provided by the district, or find other ways to school.
At a school board committee meeting Aug. 10, administrators said they were granting many appeals for students who would face longer bus rides and other issues. But some parents said Monday they still hadnt received an answer on their appeals.
Jennifer Arbuckle, whose daughter is an MPS sophomore, said she had to quit one of her two jobs in order to drive her child to and from school and she was late for her second job. She had appealed to the district and was still waiting for a clear response.
“A week and a half ago, a 15-year-old boy a block from my house was shot and killed,” she said. “My son would have to ride over an hour and transfer buses and never has done that. Bullets have no names, they have no age and Im just not comfortable.”
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Nsw Parents Shocked By School Invite To Webinar To Choose Not To Take Covid Vaccine
Parent gobsmacked to receive emailed invitation from Donna McCulloch of Thomas More Christian Montessori school in Bega
A parent whose children attend a Montessori school in regional New South Wales said she was gobsmacked to receive an invitation from the schools founders to an exciting webinar held by a macrobiotic food enthusiast, who would teach them how to boost their immunity so they could choose not to take the Covid-19 vaccination.
The email was sent by Donna McCulloch, a co-founder of the Thomas More Christian Montessori school in Bega, and said: a world renown Marcobiology Consultant who is a personal friend of mine is giving important seminars via Zoom from Stockholm.
I asked him if he would give one for our parents, the email, which was sent to all parents on 3 June, said.
He graciously accepted. This is an opportunity that you will not want to miss. The first part of the presentation is about natural immunity and the benefit of good health in the crisis.
Then he goes on to the vaccine. He gives people the info needed for preparing for the jab and what to do after receiving it for those who have needed to make this choice. He also instructs people on the benefits of natural immunity showing how one can choose not to take the jab.
McCulloch went on to write: We have only gotten 2 responses thus far and urged parents to register and to please send $20 cash to the office and we will send you the zoom link.
Flowing Wells Unified School District
The Flowing Wells Unified School District in Tucson is implementing an indoor mask requirement for students in K-12 and for all staff and visitors at district sites and on district transportation. Masks are not required outdoors and can be removed when eating or drinking or when consistent social distancing of six feet or more can be maintained , the district said in its announcement. Health accommodations will be provided for individuals who request an exemption and who provide supporting documentation signed by a health care provider.
The Glendale Elementary School District will require masks indoors at all school and district facilities from Wednesday, Aug. 18, through Tuesday, Sept. 28.
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Unimmunized Rates By County
Many students have an exemption to only one or two vaccines, and are otherwise immunized. Beginning in 2015, our survey collected numbers of students with an exemption that have no documented vaccines on file. This shows the number of students that have an exemption to all vaccines and are likely unimmunized. This number is much lower than the total with an exemption or two. The regional clustering of students with no documented vaccines is similar to that of students with an exemption to one or more vaccines. Students that are completely unimmunized pose a greater risk to the community because they are unprotected from multiple infectious diseases.