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IMMUNIZATIONS

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION - 5141.31

Required Immunizations 

The Superintendent or designee shall not unconditionally admit any student to an Irvine Unified School District school, preschool, or childcare and development program for the first time nor admit or advance any student to grade 7, unless the student has been fully immunized. Parent's guide to immunizations required for school entry is available on the IUSD website. The student shall present documentation of full immunization, in accordance with the age/grade and dose required by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), against the following diseases: (Health and Safety Code 120335; 17 CCR 6025)

  1. Measles, mumps, and rubella 
  2. Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough) 
  3. Poliomyelitis (polio)
  4. Hepatitis B 
  5. Varicella (chickenpox) 
  6. Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib meningitis) 
  7. Any other disease deemed appropriate by CDPH

However, full immunization against hepatitis B shall not be a condition by which the Superintendent or designee shall admit or advance any student to grade 7. (Health and Safety Code 120335). 

A student who qualifies for an Individualized Education Program (IEP), unless otherwise exempt, shall be fully immunized in accordance with Health and Safety Code 120335 and this regulation. However, the district shall continue to implement the student’s IEP and shall not prohibit the student from accessing any special education and related services required by the student’s IEP regardless of whether the student is fully immunized. (Health and Safety Code 120335)

School personnel shall record information for each student regarding all doses of required immunizations and the status of all requirements in accordance with 17 CCR 6070. School records shall be based on the student’s immunization record provided by the student’s health care provider, from the student’s previous school immunization record, or through the California Immunization Registry (CAIR). (17 CCR 6060)

Exemptions 

Exemption from one or more immunization requirements shall be granted under any of the following circumstances:

1. A medical exemption is submitted by a California licensed physician using the standardized form developed by CDPH and transmitted using CAIR which includes, but is not limited to, a description of the medical basis for which the exemption for each individual immunization is sought and whether the medical exemption is permanent or temporary. (Health and Safety Code 120372)

  • A student who has a medical exemption issued prior to January 1, 2020, shall be allowed to continue enrollment until the next grade span, except that after July 1, 2021, a student may not be admitted or advanced to grade 7 unless the student has been immunized or a medical exemption form filed as stated above. (Health and Safety Code 120370)
  • A temporary exemption shall not exceed one year, and all medical exemptions shall not extend beyond the grade span. (Health and Safety Code 120372). 
  • If a student’s medical exemption is revoked by CDPH on the basis that the exemption does not meet applicable criteria for medical exemptions, the student shall continue in attendance and, within 30 calendar days of the revocation, commence the immunization schedule required for conditional admittance pursuant to 17 CCR 6050, as described below. (Health and Safety Code 120372)
  • The student’s parent/guardian may appeal a revocation of a student's medical exemption to the Secretary of California Health and Human Services. If a revocation is appealed, the student shall continue in attendance and shall not be required to commence the immunization schedule required for conditional admittance provided the appeal is filled within 30 calendar days of the revocation. (Health and Safety Code 120372, 129372.05)  

2. The student is enrolled in an independent study program pursuant to Education Code 51745-51749.6 and does not receive classroom-based instruction. (Health and Safety Code 120335) 

    Conditional Enrollment 

    The Superintendent or designee may conditionally admit a student with documentation from an authorized health care provider that the student has not received all the immunizations required for the student’s age group but has commenced receiving doses of all required vaccines and is not due for any other doses at the time of admission. The Superintendent or designee shall notify the student’s parents/guardians of the date by which the student must complete all the remaining doses as specified in 17 CCR 6035. (Health and Safety Code 120340; 17 CCR 6035)

    In addition, a transfer student from another school in California or another state, may be conditionally admitted for up to 30 school days while the student’s immunization records are being transferred from the previous school. If such documentation is not presented within 30 days, the student shall be excluded from school until the required immunizations have been administered. (17 CCR 6035)

    The Superintendent or designee shall immediately enroll homeless students, foster youth, and students of military families even if their immunization records are missing or unavailable at the time of enrollment. School or district staff shall work with the student’s prior school to obtain the student’s immunization records or shall ensure that the student is properly immunized. Children of military families will be allowed 30 days from the date of enrollment to obtain the required immunization(s). (Education Code 48853.5, 49701; Health and Safety Code 120341; 42 USC 11432)

    The Superintendent or designee shall review the immunization record of each student admitted conditionally every 30 days until that student has received all the required immunizations. If the student does not receive the required immunizations within the specified time limits, the student shall be excluded from further attendance until the immunizations are received. (Health and Safety Code 120375; 17 CCR 6040, 6070)

    Exclusions Due to Lack of Immunizations 

    If an enrolled student who was previously believed to be in compliance with immunization requirements is subsequently discovered to not be in compliance with requirements for unconditional or conditional admission, the Superintendent or designee shall notify the parent/guardian that evidence of proper immunization or an appropriate exemption must be provided within 10 school days. This notice shall refer the parent/guardian to the student’s usual source of medical care or, if the student has no usual source of medical care, then to the county health department or school immunization program, if any. (Education Code 48216; 17 CCR 6040). 

    The Superintendent or designee shall exclude from further attendance an enrolled student who fails to obtain the required immunization within 10 school days following the parent/guardian’s receipt of the notice specified above. The student shall remain excluded from school until documentation is provided indicating that the student has received a dose of each required vaccine due at that time. (17 CCR 6040, 6055)

    The student shall also be reported to the attendance supervisor or principal. 

    Exclusion Due to Exposure to Disease 

    If the district has good cause to believe that a student has been exposed to a disease listed in the section “Required Immunizations” above and the student’s documentation of immunizations does not show proof of immunizations against that disease, that student may be temporarily excluded from the school until the local health officer is satisfied that the student is no longer at risk of developing or transmitting the disease. (Health and Safety Code 120370)

    Records 

    Each student’s immunization record shall be retained as part of the student’s mandatory permanent student record. District staff shall maintain the confidentiality of immunization records and may disclose such information to state and local health departments only in accordance with the law. (Health and Safety Code 120375, 120440; 17 CCR 6060)

    The district shall also retain in the mandatory student record any physician or health officer statement, personal beliefs letter or affidavit, reason for conditional enrollment, or any other documentation related to the student’s immunization record or exemptions. 

    At least annually, the Superintendent or designee shall file a written report on the immunization status of new students with CDPH and the local department of public health on forms prescribed by CDPH. (Health and Safety Code 120375; 17 CCR 6075)

    Audits 

    Education Agencies and State Compliance Reporting requires an audit of the immunization records for any school which, in the previous year, failed to submit immunization assessment reports to CDPH for kindergarten or grade 7 or reported a combined conditional admission and overdue rates greater than 10 percent in kindergarten or grade 7. CDPH’s Shots for School web site contains information as to whether a school meets either of these conditions. 

    If an audit reveals deficiencies in the district’s reporting procedures, the Superintendent or designee shall present the Board with a plan to remedy such deficiencies.
     

    Adopted: May 19, 1992
    Revised: December 8, 2015
    Revised: July 13, 2021
    Revised: August 14, 2023