STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3200
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 24, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN-SIGAL, KRUEGER -- read twice and ordered
printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to mandatory influen-
za vaccine for persons attending daycare
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 amended by chap-
2 ter 401 of the laws of 2015, subdivision 6 as amended by chapter 35 of
3 the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
4 § 2164. Definitions; immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps,
5 measles, diphtheria, rubella, varicella, Haemophilus influenzae type b
6 (Hib), pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease,
7 influenza virus, and hepatitis B. 1. As used in this section, unless the
8 context requires otherwise:
9 a. The term "school" means and includes any public, private or paro-
10 chial child caring center, day nursery, day care agency, nursery school,
11 kindergarten, elementary, intermediate or secondary school.
12 b. The term "child" shall mean and include any person between the ages
13 of two months and eighteen years.
14 c. The term "person in parental relation to a child" shall mean and
15 include [his father or mother] the child's parents, by birth or
16 adoption, [his] the child's parent legally appointed guardian, or [his]
17 the child's parent custodian. A person shall be regarded as the custo-
18 dian of a child if [he] such person has assumed the charge and care of
19 the child because the parents or legally appointed guardian of the minor
20 have died, are imprisoned, are mentally ill, or have been committed to
21 an institution, or because they have abandoned or deserted such child or
22 are living outside the state or their whereabouts are unknown, or have
23 designated the person pursuant to title fifteen-A of article five of the
24 general obligations law as a person in parental relation to the child.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06633-01-5
S. 3200 2
1 d. The term "health practitioner" shall mean any person authorized by
2 law to administer an immunization.
3 2. a. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state shall
4 have administered to such child an adequate dose or doses of an immuniz-
5 ing agent against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, rubella,
6 varicella, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), pertussis, tetanus,
7 pneumococcal disease, and hepatitis B, which meets the standards
8 approved by the United States public health service for such biological
9 products, and which is approved by the department under such conditions
10 as may be specified by the public health council.
11 b. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state born on
12 or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-four and entering sixth
13 grade or a comparable age level special education program with an unas-
14 signed grade on or after September first, two thousand seven, shall have
15 administered to such child a booster immunization containing diphtheria
16 and tetanus toxoids, and an acellular pertussis vaccine, which meets the
17 standards approved by the United States public health service for such
18 biological products, and which is approved by the department under such
19 conditions as may be specified by the public health council.
20 c. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state entering
21 or having entered seventh grade and twelfth grade or a comparable age
22 level special education program with an unassigned grade on or after
23 September first, two thousand sixteen, shall have administered to such
24 child an adequate dose or doses of immunizing agents against meningococ-
25 cal disease as recommended by the advisory committee on immunization
26 practices of the centers for disease control and prevention, which meets
27 the standards approved by the United States public health service for
28 such biological products, and which is approved by the department under
29 such conditions as may be specified by the public health and planning
30 council.
31 d. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state entering
32 or having entered a licensed and registered child daycare home, program
33 or facility shall have administered to such child an adequate dose or
34 doses of immunizing agents against influenza virus as recommended by the
35 advisory committee on immunization practices of the centers for disease
36 control and prevention, which meets the standards approved by the United
37 States public health service for such biological products, and which is
38 approved by the department under such conditions as may be specified by
39 the public health and planning council.
40 3. The person in parental relation to any such child who has not
41 previously received such immunization shall present the child to a
42 health practitioner and request such health practitioner to administer
43 the necessary immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles,
44 diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), rubella, varicella,
45 pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease, influ-
46 enza virus, and hepatitis B as provided in subdivision two of this
47 section.
48 4. If any person in parental relation to such child is unable to pay
49 for the services of a private health practitioner, such person shall
50 present such child to the health officer of the county in which the
51 child resides, who shall then administer the immunizing agent without
52 charge.
53 5. The health practitioner who administers such immunizing agent
54 against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, Haemophilus influen-
55 zae type b (Hib), rubella, varicella, pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal
56 disease, meningococcal disease, influenza virus, and hepatitis B to any
S. 3200 3
1 such child shall give a certificate of such immunization to the person
2 in parental relation to such child.
3 6. In the event that a person in parental relation to a child makes
4 application for admission of such child to a school or has a child
5 attending school and there exists no certificate or other acceptable
6 evidence of the child's immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps,
7 measles, diphtheria, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B, pertussis, teta-
8 nus, and, where applicable, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), menin-
9 gococcal disease, influenza virus, and pneumococcal disease, the princi-
10 pal, teacher, owner or person in charge of the school shall inform such
11 person of the necessity to have the child immunized, that such immuniza-
12 tion may be administered by any health practitioner, or that the child
13 may be immunized without charge by the health officer in the county
14 where the child resides, if such person executes a consent therefor. In
15 the event that such person does not wish to select a health practitioner
16 to administer the immunization, [he or she] the person shall be provided
17 with a form which shall give notice that as a prerequisite to processing
18 the application for admission to, or for continued attendance at, the
19 school such person shall state a valid reason for withholding consent or
20 consent shall be given for immunization to be administered by a health
21 officer in the public employ, or by a school physician or nurse. The
22 form shall provide for the execution of a consent by such person and it
23 shall also state that such person need not execute such consent if
24 subdivision eight of this section applies to such child.
25 7. (a) No principal, teacher, owner or person in charge of a school
26 shall permit any child to be admitted to such school, or to attend such
27 school, in excess of fourteen days, without the certificate provided for
28 in subdivision five of this section or some other acceptable evidence of
29 the child's immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphthe-
30 ria, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B, pertussis, tetanus, and, where
31 applicable, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), meningococcal disease,
32 influenza virus, and pneumococcal disease; provided, however, such four-
33 teen day period may be extended to not more than thirty days for an
34 individual student by the appropriate principal, teacher, owner or other
35 person in charge where such student is transferring from out-of-state or
36 from another country and can show a good faith effort to get the neces-
37 sary certification or other evidence of immunization.
38 (b) A parent, a guardian or any other person in parental relationship
39 to a child denied school entrance or attendance may appeal by petition
40 to the commissioner of education in accordance with the provisions of
41 section three hundred ten of the education law.
42 8. If any physician licensed to practice medicine in this state certi-
43 fies that such immunization may be detrimental to a child's health, the
44 requirements of this section shall be inapplicable until such immuniza-
45 tion is found no longer to be detrimental to the child's health.
46 8-a. Whenever a child has been refused admission to, or continued
47 attendance at, a school as provided for in subdivision seven of this
48 section because there exists no certificate provided for in subdivision
49 five of this section or other acceptable evidence of the child's immuni-
50 zation against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, rubella, vari-
51 cella, hepatitis B, pertussis, tetanus, and, where applicable, Haemophi-
52 lus influenzae type b (Hib), meningococcal disease, influenza virus, and
53 pneumococcal disease, the principal, teacher, owner or person in charge
54 of the school shall:
55 a. forward a report of such exclusion and the name and address of such
56 child to the local health authority and to the person in parental
S. 3200 4
1 relation to the child together with a notification of the responsibility
2 of such person under subdivision two of this section and a form of
3 consent as prescribed by regulation of the commissioner, and
4 b. provide, with the cooperation of the appropriate local health
5 authority, for a time and place at which an immunizing agent or agents
6 shall be administered, as required by subdivision two of this section,
7 to a child for whom a consent has been obtained. Upon failure of a local
8 health authority to cooperate in arranging for a time and place at which
9 an immunizing agent or agents shall be administered as required by
10 subdivision two of this section, the commissioner shall arrange for such
11 administration and may recover the cost thereof from the amount of state
12 aid to which the local health authority would otherwise be entitled.
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 one year after it shall have become a
19 law.
