NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1102
SPONSOR: Santabarbara TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to a standardized
form for medical exemption from required immunizations
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This legislation would mandate the use of a standardized form to be
provided to schools in order to receive a medical exemption.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Mandates the use of a standardized form section 2. Creation
of a standardized form and required informationSection 3. Effective
Date
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
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JUSTIFICATION:
Attending school allows individuals to gain valuable socialization
skills. Denying students with medical conditions from attending school
is unfair and unnecessary discrimination. This legislation would create
a standardized form for medical exemptions to ensure that all schools
are appropriately recognizing legitimate medical exemptions.Legitimate
medical exemptions have been challenged across the state since the elim-
ination of the religious belief exemption for school vaccinations. Some
of these students have been receiving medical exemptions for years, only
to have them revoked under recent unfair scrutiny. This legislation
would create a standardized form for medical exemptions to ensure that
all schools are appropriately recognizing legitimate medical exemp-
tions.Some individuals are unable to safely take vaccines as it could
have detrimental effects on their health. When a licensed medical
professional determines that it is in a student's best interest to
attend school without receiving required vaccination, that medical opin-
ion should be respected. Medical professionals undergo years of training
to understand the human body and ensure the well being of others.Schools
should not be able to overrule a medical opinion. The creation of this
standardized form will allow students with medical conditions to contin-
ue attending school by removing the ability of school administrators to
challenge the validity of a medical professional's opinion. By standard-
izing the form, licensed medical professionals can clearly convey to the
schools that an individual student is unable to receive vaccinations for
health reasons.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-20: A10813 - referred to health;
2021-22: A01894 - referred to health.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
30 days after it shall become law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1102
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 13, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to a standardized
form for medical exemption from required immunizations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 8 of section 2164 of the public health law, as
2 amended by chapter 401 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 8. If any physician, nurse practitioner or physician's assistant
5 licensed to practice medicine in this state [certifies] completes the
6 required exemption form stating that such immunization may be detri-
7 mental to a child's health, the requirements of this section shall be
8 inapplicable until such immunization is found no longer to be detri-
9 mental to the child's health by the child's physician, nurse practition-
10 er or physician's assistant. The department or any other state agency,
11 board or commission may not require any other condition or requirement
12 for the medical exemption to immunization or immunizations provided for
13 in this section for school admission.
14 § 2. Subdivision 8-a of section 2164 of the public health law is
15 renumbered subdivision 8-b and a new subdivision 8-a is added to read as
16 follows:
17 8-a. Any physician, nurse practitioner or physician's assistant who
18 believes that such immunization may be detrimental to the child's health
19 must complete the following form and file it with the child's school:
20 Medical Exemption Form
21 (a) Name(s) of parent, parents or guardian:
22 (b) Name of child:
23 (c) Child's birthdate:
24 (d) Child's home address:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02462-01-3
A. 1102 2
1 (e) I hereby certify that immunization against (poliomyelitis, mumps,
2 measles, diptheria, rubella, varicella, Haemophilus influenzae type b
3 (Hib), pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal disease, influenza, meningococ-
4 cal disease and hepatitis B) may be detrimental to the child's health.
5 This certification, once provided to the child's school, shall serve as
6 an exemption to section 2164 of the public health law.
7 (signature of physician, nurse practitioner or physician's assistant)
8 (date)
9 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
10 have become a law.
