Directs schools to provide information on meningococcal disease immunization to students and parents of students in seventh grade, and requires such schools to maintain record of responses as to whether such students have received such immunization.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5069--D
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 3, 2011
___________
Introduced by Sens. HANNON, LARKIN -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health -- commit-
tee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom-
mitted to said committee -- reported favorably from said committee and
committed to the Committee on Finance -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee -- recommitted to the Committee on Health in accordance with
Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- reported favorably from said committee and
committed to the Committee on Finance -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to raising the level
of immunity of children against meningococcal disease
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 2167 of the public health law, as added by chapter
2 165 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 2167. Immunization against meningococcal meningitis. 1. As used in
4 this section, unless the context requires otherwise:
5 a. The term "student" means [a] any person who is in seventh grade or
6 a comparable age level special education program with an unassigned
7 grade at a school, or attending an institution and, in the case of a
8 student attending college, "student" means a person who is registered to
9 attend or who attends classes at an institution, who is enrolled for at
10 least six semester hours or the equivalent per semester, or at least
11 four semester hours per quarter.
12 b. The term "institution" means an academy or college, as defined in
13 section two of the education law, or a children's overnight camp as
14 defined in section one thousand three hundred ninety-two of this chap-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11275-10-2
S. 5069--D 2
1 ter, where the person attending such camp remains overnight for a period
2 of not fewer than seven days.
3 c. The term "immunization" means an adequate dose or doses of an
4 immunizing agent against meningococcal meningitis which meets the stand-
5 ards approved by the United States public health service for such
6 biological products and which is approved by the department under such
7 conditions as may be specified by the public health and health planning
8 council.
9 d. The term "school" means any public, private or parochial interme-
10 diate or secondary school.
11 2. Each institution and school shall distribute, in a form provided or
12 approved by the commissioner, written information about meningococcal
13 meningitis and meningitis immunization to all students. The information
14 provided by the institution or school shall include, but not be limited
15 to, the following:
16 a. a description of the disease and means of transmission;
17 b. the benefits, risks, and effectiveness of immunization;
18 c. the availability and cost of immunization, including an indication
19 of whether or not the institution or school offers meningococcal mening-
20 itis immunization services.
21 3. Each institution and school shall also distribute, in a form
22 provided or approved by the commissioner [of health], a response form,
23 to be completed by the student or, where the student is under the age of
24 eighteen years, such student's parent or guardian, which shall include
25 the following:
26 a. The student, or if under the age of eighteen years the parent or
27 guardian of the student, certifies that the student has already received
28 immunization against meningococcal meningitis within the ten years
29 preceding the date of the response form;
30 b. The student, or if under the age of eighteen years the parent or
31 guardian of such student, has received and reviewed the information
32 provided by the institution or school, understands the risks of meningo-
33 coccal meningitis and the benefits of immunization, and has decided that
34 the student shall not obtain immunization against meningococcal meningi-
35 tis.
36 The student, or if under the age of eighteen years the parent or guar-
37 dian of such student, shall indicate his or her decision in a box or
38 space placed appropriately on the form and shall return the completed
39 form to the institution or school. Nothing in this subdivision shall be
40 construed to prohibit an institution or school from incorporating the
41 form required by this subdivision into another health certificate or
42 form required by the institution or school.
43 4. Each institution and school shall maintain [completed] a record of
44 the response [forms].
45 5. No institution shall permit any student to attend the institution
46 in excess of thirty days without complying with this section; provided,
47 however, that such thirty day period may be extended to not more than
48 sixty days if a student can show a good faith effort to comply with this
49 section.
50 6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit institutions
51 and schools from adopting or maintaining more stringent policies regard-
52 ing immunization against meningococcal meningitis.
53 § 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013; provided, that, effec-
54 tive immediately, any actions necessary to implement the provisions of
55 this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to be
56 completed on or before such date.
