Governor Brown Has Signed SB 614 Into Law
Under a new state law, SB 614, schools have the option of allowing students in the 7th through 12th grades to conditionally attend classes for up to 30 calendar days after their first day of the 2011-2012 school year before meeting their requirement for a whooping cough booster (Tdap).
This option for conditional attendance will assist schools that need additional time to gather records on their students. To exercise this option, the county office of education or school district must work with the pupil’s parent or guardian so that the pupil receives the Tdap booster. Students will face exclusion from classes if they have not met the vaccine requirement by their school’s deadline.
As pertussis continues to occur at high levels in California, unimmunized adolescents remain at risk of becoming ill, missing school and spreading pertussis to their fellow students, households and communities. CDPH urges schools, health care providers, and the public to continue their efforts to protect students against pertussis this summer.
If they haven’t already, parents should make sure their children have been immunized and submitted their shot records to school as soon as possible before school starts to keep them healthy and in the classroom – check with individual schools for details.