Iowa Code 139A.8 – Immunization of children
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1. A parent or legal guardian shall assure that the person‘s minor children residing in the state are adequately immunized against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, rubeola, rubella, and varicella, according to recommendations provided by the department subject to the provisions of subsections 3 and 4.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 139A.8
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Board: means the board of hearing aid specialists. See Iowa Code 154A.1
- Child: includes child by adoption. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Department: means the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing. See Iowa Code 154A.1
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Person: means a natural person. See Iowa Code 154A.1
- State: means a state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See Iowa Code 152E.3
- United States: includes all the states. See Iowa Code 4.1
2. a. A person shall not be enrolled in any licensed child care center or elementary or secondary school in Iowa without evidence of adequate immunizations against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, rubeola, rubella, and varicella.
b. Evidence of adequate immunization against haemophilus influenza B and invasive pneumococcal disease shall be required prior to enrollment in any licensed child care center.
c. Evidence of hepatitis type B immunization shall be required of a child born on or after July 1, 1994, prior to enrollment in school in kindergarten or in a grade.
d. Immunizations shall be provided according to recommendations provided by the department subject to the provisions of subsections 3 and 4.
e. A person shall not be enrolled in school in the seventh grade or twelfth grade in Iowa without evidence of adequate immunization against meningococcal disease in accordance with standards approved by the United States public health service of the United States department of health and human services for such biological products and in accordance with immunization practices recommended by the advisory committee on immunization practices of the centers for disease control and prevention.
3. Subject to the provision of subsection 4, the council on health and human services may modify or delete any of the immunizations in subsection 2.
4. a. Immunization is not required for a person’s enrollment in any elementary or secondary school or licensed child care center if either of the following applies:
(1) The applicant, or if the applicant is a minor, the applicant’s parent or legal guardian, submits to the admitting official a statement signed by a physician, advanced registered nurse practitioner, or physician assistant who is licensed by the board of medicine, board of nursing, or board of physician assistants that the immunizations required would be injurious to the health and well-being of the applicant or any member of the applicant’s family.
(2) The applicant, or if the applicant is a minor, the applicant’s parent or legal guardian, submits an affidavit signed by the applicant, or if the applicant is a minor, the applicant’s parent or legal guardian, stating that the immunization conflicts with the tenets and practices of a recognized religious denomination of which the applicant is an adherent or member.
b. The exemptions under this subsection do not apply in times of emergency or epidemic as determined by the council on health and human services and as declared by the director of health and human services.
5. A person may be provisionally enrolled in an elementary or secondary school or licensed child care center if the person has begun the required immunizations and if the person continues to receive the necessary immunizations as rapidly as is medically feasible. The department shall adopt rules relating to the provisional admission of persons to an elementary or secondary school or licensed child care center.
6. The local board shall furnish the department, within sixty days after the first official day of school, evidence that each person enrolled in any elementary or secondary school has been immunized as required in this section subject to subsection 4. The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A relating to the reporting of evidence of immunization.
7. Local boards shall provide the required immunizations to children in areas where no local provision of these services exists.
8. The department, in consultation with the director of the department of education, shall adopt rules for the implementation of this section and shall provide those rules to local school boards and local boards.