Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a)
Inform of requirements and
ascertain immunization status. The administrator in charge of a school
shall appoint a knowledgeable person to perform all of the following:
(1) Inform the parent, guardian or
emancipated child at registration or prior to registration, if possible, of the
requirements of this subchapter.
(2) Ascertain the immunization status of a
child prior to admission to school or continued attendance at school.
(i) The parent, guardian or emancipated child
shall be asked for a completed certificate of immunization.
(ii) In the absence of a certificate of
immunization, the parent, guardian or emancipated child shall be asked for a
record or history of immunization which indicates the month, day and year that
immunizations were given. This information shall be recorded on the certificate
of immunization and signed by the school official or the school official's
designee, or the details of the record shall be stored in a computer
database.
(b)
Admission to school or continued attendance. If the
knowledgeable person designated by the school administrator is unable to
ascertain whether a child has received the immunizations required under §
23.83 (relating to immunization
requirements) or under subsection (e) or is exempt under §
23.84 (relating to exemption from
immunization), the school administrator may admit the child to school or allow
the child's continued attendance at school only according to the requirements
of subsections (d) and (e).
(c)
Inform of specific immunization requirements. The parent or
guardian of a child or the emancipated child who has not received the
immunizations required under §
23.83 shall be informed of the
specific immunizations required and advised to go to the child's usual source
of care or nearest public clinic to obtain the required
immunizations.
(d)
Requirements under which admission or continued attendance is
permitted. A child not previously admitted to or not allowed to
continue attendance at school because the child has not had the required
immunizations shall be admitted to or permitted to continue attendance at
school only upon presentation to the school administrator or school
administrator's designee of a completed certificate of immunization or
immunization record, upon submission of information sufficient for an exemption
under §
23.84, or upon compliance with
subsection (e).
(e)
Provisional admittance to school.
(1)
Multiple dose vaccine
series. If a child has not received all of the antigens for a multiple
dose vaccine series described in §
23.83 on the child's first day of
attendance for that school year, the school administrator or the school
administrator's designee may not provisionally admit the child to school unless
the child has at least one dose of each multiple dose vaccine series required
under § 23.83, and one of the following occurs:
(i) The child receives the final dose of each
multiple dose vaccine series required under §
23.83 within 5 school days of the
child's first day of attendance, and the child's parent or guardian provides a
certificate of immunization on or before the 5th school day.
(ii) If the child needs additional doses of a
multiple dose vaccine series to meet the requirements of §
23.83, the child receives the next
scheduled dose during the 5 school days referenced in subparagraph (i), and the
child's parent or guardian provides a medical certificate on or before the 5th
school day scheduling the additional required doses.
(iii) If the child needs additional doses of
a multiple dose vaccine series to meet the requirements of § 23.83, but
the next dose is not medically appropriate during the 5 school days referenced
in subparagraph (i), the child's parent or guardian provides a medical
certificate on or before the 5th school day scheduling the additional required
doses.
(2)
Single
dose vaccines. If a child has not received a vaccine for which only a
single dose is required on the child's first day of attendance for that school
year, the child may not be admitted to school.
(3)
Completion of required
immunizations. The medical certificate shall be reviewed at least
every 30 days by the school administrator or the school administrator's
designee. Subsequent immunizations shall be entered on the certificate of
immunization or entered in the school's computer database. Immunization
requirements described in §
23.83 shall be completed in
accordance with the requirements of the medical certificate. If, upon review,
the requirements of the medical certificate are not met, the school
administrator or the school administrator's designee may exclude the child from
school.
(4)
Medical
certificate. A school shall maintain the medical certificate until the
official school immunization record is completed.
(f)
Certificate of
immunization. A school shall maintain on file a certificate of
immunization for a child enrolled. An alternative to maintaining a certificate
on file is to transfer the immunization information from the certificate to a
computer database. The certificate of immunization or a facsimile thereof
generated by computer shall be returned to the parent, guardian or emancipated
child or the school shall transfer the certificate of immunization (or
facsimile) with the child's record to the new school when a child withdraws,
transfers is promoted, graduates or otherwise leaves the school.
(g)
Applicability. This
section does not apply to a child if one of the following occurs:
(1) The child has not been immunized or is
unable to provide immunization records due to being homeless. A school shall
comply with Federal laws pertaining to the educational rights of homeless
children, including the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance
Improvements Act of 2001 (42
U.S.C.A. §§
11431-11435).
(2) The child, when moving or transferring
into a school in this Commonwealth, is unable to provide immunization records
immediately upon enrollment into the school. The child's parent or guardian
shall have 30 days to provide immunization records to the school to show proof
of immunization as set forth in § 23.83, a medical certificate as set
forth in subsection (e) or to satisfy the requirements for an exemption as set
forth in §
23.84. A child who is unable to
provide the necessary records, medical certificate or exemption may be excluded
at the end of the 30-day period and in subsequent school years until the
requirements of this subchapter are met.
(3) The child has not been immunized or is
unable to provide immunization records on the first day of attendance for the
school year due to being in foster care. A school shall comply with Federal
laws pertaining to the educational rights of children in foster care, including
the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008
(42 U.S.C.A. §§
670-679c). The child's foster parent
shall have 30 days to provide immunization records to the school to show proof
of immunization as set forth in §
23.83, a medical certificate as
set forth in subsection (e) or to satisfy the requirements for an exemption as
set forth in §
23.84. A child who is unable to
provide the necessary records, medical certificate or exemption may be excluded
at the end of the 30-day period and in subsequent school years until the
requirements of this subchapter are met.
(4) The child obtains an exemption under
§ 23.84.
(h)
Temporary waiver. The Secretary may issue a temporary waiver
of the immunization requirements in §
23.83. The details of the
temporary waiver will be set out in a notice published in the
Pennsylvania Bulletin. A temporary waiver may be issued under
either of the following circumstances:
(1)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Department of
Health and Human Services, recognizes a Nationwide shortage of supply for a
particular vaccine.
(2) In the
event of a disaster impacting the ability of children transferring into a
school to provide immunization records.
The provisions of this §23.85 amended under section 1303
of the Public School Code of 1949 (24 P. S. §
13-1303); section 16(a)(6) and (b) of the
Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955 (35 P.S. §
521.16(a)(6) and (b)); and
sections 2102(g) and 2111 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S.
§§
532(g) and
541).
This section cited in 22 Pa. Code §405.49 (relating to
immunizations); and 28 Pa. Code §
27.77 (relating to immunization
requirements for children in child care group
settings).
