STATE OF NEW YORK
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9347
IN ASSEMBLY
April 16, 2014
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to meningococcal
immunizations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 2164 of the public health law, as added by chapter
2 994 of the laws of 1966, the section heading and subdivisions 3, 5, and
3 6, paragraph (a) of subdivision 7 and the opening paragraph of subdivi-
4 sion 8-a, as amended by chapter 189 of the laws of 2006, paragraph b of
5 subdivision 1 and subdivision 7 as amended by chapter 443 of the laws of
6 1979, paragraph c of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 119 of the laws
7 of 2005, paragraph d of subdivision 1 as added and subdivisions 4 and
8 8-a as amended by chapter 538 of the laws of 1989, subdivision 2 as
9 separately amended by chapters 189 and 506 of the laws of 2006, subdivi-
10 sions 8 and 10 as renumbered by chapter 633 of the laws of 1975, subdi-
11 vision 9 as separately amended by chapters 405 and 538 of the laws of
12 1989, subdivision 10 as added by chapter 1094 of the laws of 1968, and
13 subdivision 11 as added by chapter 521 of the laws of 1994, is amended
14 to read as follows:
15 § 2164. Definitions; immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps,
16 measles, diphtheria, rubella, varicella, Haemophilus influenzae type b
17 (Hib), pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease,
18 and hepatitis B. 1. As used in this section, unless the context
19 requires otherwise:
20 a. The term "school" means and includes any public, private or paro-
21 chial child caring center, day nursery, day care agency, nursery school,
22 kindergarten, elementary, intermediate or secondary school.
23 b. The term "child" shall mean and include any person between the ages
24 of two months and eighteen years.
25 c. The term "person in parental relation to a child" shall mean and
26 include his father or mother, by birth or adoption, his legally
27 appointed guardian, or his custodian. A person shall be regarded as the
28 custodian of a child if he has assumed the charge and care of the child
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14687-02-4
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1 because the parents or legally appointed guardian of the minor have
2 died, are imprisoned, are mentally ill, or have been committed to an
3 institution, or because they have abandoned or deserted such child or
4 are living outside the state or their whereabouts are unknown, or have
5 designated the person pursuant to title fifteen-A of article five of the
6 general obligations law as a person in parental relation to the child.
7 d. The term "health practitioner" shall mean any person authorized by
8 law to administer an immunization.
9 2. a. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state shall
10 have administered to such child an adequate dose or doses of an immuniz-
11 ing agent against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, rubella,
12 varicella, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), pertussis, tetanus,
13 pneumococcal disease, and hepatitis B, which meets the standards
14 approved by the United States public health service for such biological
15 products, and which is approved by the department under such conditions
16 as may be specified by the public health council.
17 b. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state born on
18 or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-four and entering sixth
19 grade or a comparable age level special education program with an unas-
20 signed grade on or after September first, two thousand seven, shall have
21 administered to such child a booster immunization containing diphtheria
22 and tetanus toxoids, and an acellular pertussis vaccine, which meets the
23 standards approved by the United States public health service for such
24 biological products, and which is approved by the department under such
25 conditions as may be specified by the public health council.
26 c. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state entering
27 or having entered sixth grade and eleventh grade or a comparable age
28 level special education program with an unassigned grade on or after
29 September first, two thousand fifteen, shall have administered to such
30 child an adequate dose or doses of an immunizing agent against meningo-
31 coccal disease as recommended by the advisory committee on immunization
32 practices, ACIP, which meets the standards approved by the United States
33 public health service for such biological products, and which is
34 approved by the department under such conditions as may be specified by
35 the public health council.
36 3. The person in parental relation to any such child who has not
37 previously received such immunization shall present the child to a
38 health practitioner and request such health practitioner to administer
39 the necessary immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles,
40 diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), rubella, varicella,
41 pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease, and
42 hepatitis B as provided in subdivision two of this section.
43 4. If any person in parental relation to such child is unable to pay
44 for the services of a private health practitioner, such person shall
45 present such child to the health officer of the county in which the
46 child resides, who shall then administer the immunizing agent without
47 charge.
48 5. The health practitioner who administers such immunizing agent
49 against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, Haemophilus influen-
50 zae type b (Hib), rubella, varicella, pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal
51 disease, meningococcal disease, and hepatitis B to any such child shall
52 give a certificate of such immunization to the person in parental
53 relation to such child.
54 6. In the event that a person in parental relation to a child makes
55 application for admission of such child to a school or has a child
56 attending school and there exists no certificate or other acceptable
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1 evidence of the child's immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps,
2 measles, diphtheria, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B, pertussis, teta-
3 nus, and, where applicable, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), menin-
4 gococcal disease, and pneumococcal disease, the principal, teacher,
5 owner or person in charge of the school shall inform such person of the
6 necessity to have the child immunized, that such immunization may be
7 administered by any health practitioner, or that the child may be immun-
8 ized without charge by the health officer in the county where the child
9 resides, if such person executes a consent therefor. In the event that
10 such person does not wish to select a health practitioner to administer
11 the immunization, he or she shall be provided with a form which shall
12 give notice that as a prerequisite to processing the application for
13 admission to, or for continued attendance at, the school such person
14 shall state a valid reason for withholding consent or consent shall be
15 given for immunization to be administered by a health officer in the
16 public employ, or by a school physician or nurse. The form shall provide
17 for the execution of a consent by such person and it shall also state
18 that such person need not execute such consent if subdivision eight or
19 nine of this section apply to such child.
20 7. (a) No principal, teacher, owner or person in charge of a school
21 shall permit any child to be admitted to such school, or to attend such
22 school, in excess of fourteen days, without the certificate provided for
23 in subdivision five of this section or some other acceptable evidence of
24 the child's immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphthe-
25 ria, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B, pertussis, tetanus, and, where
26 applicable, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), meningococcal disease,
27 and pneumococcal disease; provided, however, such fourteen day period
28 may be extended to not more than thirty days for an individual student
29 by the appropriate principal, teacher, owner or other person in charge
30 where such student is transferring from out-of-state or from another
31 country and can show a good faith effort to get the necessary certif-
32 ication or other evidence of immunization.
33 (b) A parent, a guardian or any other person in parental relationship
34 to a child denied school entrance or attendance may appeal by petition
35 to the commissioner of education in accordance with the provisions of
36 section three hundred ten of the education law.
37 8. If any physician licensed to practice medicine in this state certi-
38 fies that such immunization may be detrimental to a child's health, the
39 requirements of this section shall be inapplicable until such immuniza-
40 tion is found no longer to be detrimental to the child's health.
41 8-a. Whenever a child has been refused admission to, or continued
42 attendance at, a school as provided for in subdivision seven of this
43 section because there exists no certificate provided for in subdivision
44 five of this section or other acceptable evidence of the child's immuni-
45 zation against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, rubella, vari-
46 cella, hepatitis B, pertussis, tetanus, and, where applicable, Haemophi-
47 lus influenzae type b (Hib), meningococcal disease, and pneumococcal
48 disease, the principal, teacher, owner or person in charge of the school
49 shall:
50 a. forward a report of such exclusion and the name and address of such
51 child to the local health authority and to the person in parental
52 relation to the child together with a notification of the responsibility
53 of such person under subdivision two of this section and a form of
54 consent as prescribed by regulation of the commissioner, and
55 b. provide, with the cooperation of the appropriate local health
56 authority, for a time and place at which an immunizing agent or agents
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1 shall be administered, as required by subdivision two of this section,
2 to a child for whom a consent has been obtained. Upon failure of a local
3 health authority to cooperate in arranging for a time and place at which
4 an immunizing agent or agents shall be administered as required by
5 subdivision two of this section, the commissioner shall arrange for such
6 administration and may recover the cost thereof from the amount of state
7 aid to which the local health authority would otherwise be entitled.
8 9. This section shall not apply to children whose parent, parents, or
9 guardian hold genuine and sincere religious beliefs which are contrary
10 to the practices herein required, and no certificate shall be required
11 as a prerequisite to such children being admitted or received into
12 school or attending school.
13 10. The commissioner may adopt and amend rules and regulations to
14 effectuate the provisions and purposes of this section.
15 11. Every school shall annually provide the commissioner, on forms
16 provided by the commissioner, a summary regarding compliance with the
17 provisions of this section.
18 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
