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S04324 Summary:

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S04324 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         4324--A
            Cal. No. 1057
 
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                     March 13, 2015
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by Sens. HANNON, AVELLA, BRESLIN, CARLUCCI, ESPAILLAT, HOYL-
          MAN, KENNEDY, LATIMER, PERKINS, RIVERA, SAVINO, VALESKY -- read  twice
          and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
          on  Health -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first
          report, amended on first  report,  ordered  to  a  second  report  and
          ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of second report
 
        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:
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
        S                                                          LBD02179-09-5
        S. 4324--A                          2
 
     1    a.  The  term "school" means and includes any public, private or paro-
     2  chial child caring center, day nursery, day care agency, nursery school,
     3  kindergarten, elementary, intermediate or secondary school.
     4    b. The term "child" shall mean and include any person between the ages
     5  of two months and eighteen years.
     6    c.  The  term  "person in parental relation to a child" shall mean and
     7  include his  father  or  mother,  by  birth  or  adoption,  his  legally
     8  appointed  guardian, or his custodian. A person shall be regarded as the
     9  custodian of a child if he has assumed the charge and care of the  child
    10  because  the  parents  or  legally  appointed guardian of the minor have
    11  died, are imprisoned, are mentally ill, or have  been  committed  to  an
    12  institution,  or  because  they have abandoned or deserted such child or
    13  are living outside the state or their whereabouts are unknown,  or  have
    14  designated the person pursuant to title fifteen-A of article five of the
    15  general obligations law as a person in parental relation to the child.
    16    d.  The term "health practitioner" shall mean any person authorized by
    17  law to administer an immunization.
    18    2. a. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state shall
    19  have administered to such child an adequate dose or doses of an immuniz-
    20  ing agent against poliomyelitis, mumps,  measles,  diphtheria,  rubella,
    21  varicella,  Haemophilus  influenzae  type  b  (Hib), pertussis, tetanus,
    22  pneumococcal  disease,  and  hepatitis  B,  which  meets  the  standards
    23  approved  by the United States public health service for such biological
    24  products, and which is approved by the department under such  conditions
    25  as may be specified by the public health council.
    26    b.  Every person in parental relation to a child in this state born on
    27  or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-four and entering  sixth
    28  grade  or a comparable age level special education program with an unas-
    29  signed grade on or after September first, two thousand seven, shall have
    30  administered to such child a booster immunization containing  diphtheria
    31  and tetanus toxoids, and an acellular pertussis vaccine, which meets the
    32  standards  approved  by the United States public health service for such
    33  biological products, and which is approved by the department under  such
    34  conditions as may be specified by the public health council.
    35    c. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state entering
    36  or  having  entered  seventh grade and twelfth grade or a comparable age
    37  level special education program with an unassigned  grade  on  or  after
    38  September  first,  two thousand sixteen, shall have administered to such
    39  child an adequate dose or doses of immunizing agents against meningococ-
    40  cal disease as recommended by the  advisory  committee  on  immunization
    41  practices of the centers for disease control and prevention, which meets
    42  the  standards  approved  by the United States public health service for
    43  such biological products, and which is approved by the department  under
    44  such  conditions  as  may be specified by the public health and planning
    45  council.
    46    3. The person in parental relation to  any  such  child  who  has  not
    47  previously  received  such  immunization  shall  present  the child to a
    48  health practitioner and request such health practitioner  to  administer
    49  the   necessary  immunization  against  poliomyelitis,  mumps,  measles,
    50  diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type  b  (Hib),  rubella,  varicella,
    51  pertussis,  tetanus,  pneumococcal  disease,  meningococcal disease, and
    52  hepatitis B as provided in subdivision two of this section.
    53    4. If any person in parental relation to such child is unable  to  pay
    54  for  the  services  of  a private health practitioner, such person shall
    55  present such child to the health officer of  the  county  in  which  the
        S. 4324--A                          3
 
     1  child  resides,  who  shall then administer the immunizing agent without
     2  charge.
     3    5.  The  health  practitioner  who  administers  such immunizing agent
     4  against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, Haemophilus  influen-
     5  zae  type  b (Hib), rubella, varicella, pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal
     6  disease, meningococcal disease, and hepatitis B to any such child  shall
     7  give  a  certificate  of  such  immunization  to  the person in parental
     8  relation to such child.
     9    6. In the event that a person in parental relation to  a  child  makes
    10  application  for  admission  of  such  child  to a school or has a child
    11  attending school and there exists no  certificate  or  other  acceptable
    12  evidence  of  the  child's  immunization  against  poliomyelitis, mumps,
    13  measles, diphtheria, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B,  pertussis,  teta-
    14  nus,  and, where applicable, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), menin-
    15  gococcal disease, and  pneumococcal  disease,  the  principal,  teacher,
    16  owner  or person in charge of the school shall inform such person of the
    17  necessity to have the child immunized, that  such  immunization  may  be
    18  administered by any health practitioner, or that the child may be immun-
    19  ized  without charge by the health officer in the county where the child
    20  resides, if such person executes a consent therefor. In the  event  that
    21  such  person does not wish to select a health practitioner to administer
    22  the immunization, he or she shall be provided with a  form  which  shall
    23  give  notice  that  as  a prerequisite to processing the application for
    24  admission to, or for continued attendance at,  the  school  such  person
    25  shall  state  a valid reason for withholding consent or consent shall be
    26  given for immunization to be administered by a  health  officer  in  the
    27  public employ, or by a school physician or nurse. The form shall provide
    28  for  the  execution  of a consent by such person and it shall also state
    29  that such person need not execute such consent if subdivision  eight  or
    30  nine of this section apply to such child.
    31    7.  (a)  No  principal, teacher, owner or person in charge of a school
    32  shall permit any child to be admitted to such school, or to attend  such
    33  school, in excess of fourteen days, without the certificate provided for
    34  in subdivision five of this section or some other acceptable evidence of
    35  the child's immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphthe-
    36  ria,  rubella,  varicella,  hepatitis  B, pertussis, tetanus, and, where
    37  applicable, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), meningococcal  disease,
    38  and  pneumococcal  disease;  provided, however, such fourteen day period
    39  may be extended to not more than thirty days for an  individual  student
    40  by  the  appropriate principal, teacher, owner or other person in charge
    41  where such student is transferring from  out-of-state  or  from  another
    42  country  and  can  show a good faith effort to get the necessary certif-
    43  ication or other evidence of immunization.
    44    (b) A parent, a guardian or any other person in parental  relationship
    45  to  a  child denied school entrance or attendance may appeal by petition
    46  to the commissioner of education in accordance with  the  provisions  of
    47  section three hundred ten of the education law.
    48    8. If any physician licensed to practice medicine in this state certi-
    49  fies  that such immunization may be detrimental to a child's health, the
    50  requirements of this section shall be inapplicable until such  immuniza-
    51  tion is found no longer to be detrimental to the child's health.
    52    8-a.  Whenever  a  child  has  been refused admission to, or continued
    53  attendance at, a school as provided for in  subdivision  seven  of  this
    54  section  because there exists no certificate provided for in subdivision
    55  five of this section or other acceptable evidence of the child's immuni-
    56  zation against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, rubella, vari-
        S. 4324--A                          4
 
     1  cella, hepatitis B, pertussis, tetanus, and, where applicable, Haemophi-
     2  lus influenzae type b (Hib),  meningococcal  disease,  and  pneumococcal
     3  disease, the principal, teacher, owner or person in charge of the school
     4  shall:
     5    a. forward a report of such exclusion and the name and address of such
     6  child  to  the  local  health  authority  and  to the person in parental
     7  relation to the child together with a notification of the responsibility
     8  of such person under subdivision two of  this  section  and  a  form  of
     9  consent as prescribed by regulation of the commissioner, and
    10    b.  provide,  with  the  cooperation  of  the appropriate local health
    11  authority, for a time and place at which an immunizing agent  or  agents
    12  shall  be  administered, as required by subdivision two of this section,
    13  to a child for whom a consent has been obtained. Upon failure of a local
    14  health authority to cooperate in arranging for a time and place at which
    15  an immunizing agent or agents  shall  be  administered  as  required  by
    16  subdivision two of this section, the commissioner shall arrange for such
    17  administration and may recover the cost thereof from the amount of state
    18  aid to which the local health authority would otherwise be entitled.
    19    9.  This section shall not apply to children whose parent, parents, or
    20  guardian hold genuine and sincere religious beliefs which  are  contrary
    21  to  the  practices herein required, and no certificate shall be required
    22  as a prerequisite to such  children  being  admitted  or  received  into
    23  school or attending school.
    24    10.  The  commissioner  may  adopt  and amend rules and regulations to
    25  effectuate the provisions and purposes of this section.
    26    11. Every school shall annually provide  the  commissioner,  on  forms
    27  provided  by  the  commissioner, a summary regarding compliance with the
    28  provisions of this section.
    29    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.