Not Throwing Away Your Shot: Students No Longer Able to Use ACIP Catch-up Schedule for Immunizations

Although the fate of the 2020-2021 academic year remains uncertain, schools are well-advised to make sure students’ health records are in order. As with the last academic year, the examination of student immunization records will require attention to new rules.

As you may recall, in June 2019, New York’s Public Health Law § 2164 was amended to remove religious exemptions to immunizations for school-aged children. The amended law temporarily allowed all students who were not current on grade-level immunization requirements to have a fourteen (14) day “grace period” to attend school without their immunizations. This fourteen (14) day grace period could be extended up to thirty (30) days if (a) the student was transferring from out-of-state or out-of-country and could show a good-faith attempt to be immunized, or (b) the student had received at least the first dose in an immunization series and had age-appropriate appointments for the remaining doses in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) catch-up schedule.

On June 30, 2020, the portion of the law permitting students to attend under the ACIP catch-up schedule sunset: students are no longer able to attend while they are “in process” of becoming fully immunized.

What does this mean, simply put? All students will still be eligible for a fourteen (14) day grace period at the beginning of a school year if they are not fully immunized. From here on out, however, only students who are transferring from out-of-state or out-of-country—and can show a good faith attempt to be fully immunized—can have this fourteen (14) day period extended to thirty (30) days.

As with last year, before a student is excluded from school, they must be given a consent form through which a parent/guardian can consent to having the student immunized by the school physician, school nurse, or the “health officer in the public employ.”

We are happy to discuss the required contents of this form, provide you with a form your administration may use to comply with the law, or review the circumstances of any particular student. Feel free to call with any questions or concerns.