Effective 28 Aug 2018

210.003. Immunizations of children required, when, exceptions — duties of administrator, report — notification of parents, when. — 1. No child shall be permitted to enroll in or attend any public, private or parochial day care center, preschool or nursery school caring for ten or more children unless such child has been adequately immunized against vaccine-preventable childhood illnesses specified by the department of health and senior services in accordance with recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The parent or guardian of such child shall provide satisfactory evidence of the required immunizations.

2. A child who has not completed all immunizations appropriate for his or her age may enroll, if:

(1) Satisfactory evidence is produced that such child has begun the process of immunization. The child may continue to attend as long as the immunization process is being accomplished according to the ACIP/Missouri department of health and senior services recommended schedule;

(2) The parent or guardian has signed and placed on file with the day care administrator a statement of exemption which may be either of the following:

(a) A medical exemption, by which a child shall be exempted from the requirements of this section upon certification by a licensed physician that such immunization would seriously endanger the child's health or life; or

(b) A parent or guardian exemption, by which a child shall be exempted from the requirements of this section if one parent or guardian files a written objection to immunization with the day care administrator; or

(3) The child is homeless or in the custody of the children's division and cannot provide satisfactory evidence of the required immunizations. Satisfactory evidence shall be presented within thirty days of enrollment and shall confirm either that the child has completed all immunizations appropriate for his or her age or has begun the process of immunization. If the child has begun the process of immunization, he or she may continue to attend as long as the process is being accomplished according to the schedule recommended by the department of health and senior services.

­­Exemptions shall be accepted by the day care administrator when the necessary information as determined by the department of health and senior services is filed with the day care administrator by the parent or guardian. Exemption forms shall be provided by the department of health and senior services.

3. In the event of an outbreak or suspected outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease within a particular facility, the administrator of the facility shall follow the control measures instituted by the local health authority or the department of health and senior services or both the local health authority and the department of health and senior services, as established in Rule 19 CSR 20-20.040, "Measures for the Control of Communicable, Environmental and Occupational Diseases".

4. The administrator of each public, private or parochial day care center, preschool or nursery school shall cause to be prepared a record of immunization of every child enrolled in or attending a facility under his or her jurisdiction. An annual summary report shall be made by January fifteenth showing the immunization status of each child enrolled, using forms provided for this purpose by the department of health and senior services. The immunization records shall be available for review by department of health and senior services personnel upon request.

5. For purposes of this section, "satisfactory evidence of immunization" means a statement, certificate or record from a physician or other recognized health facility or personnel, stating that the required immunizations have been given to the child and verifying the type of vaccine and the month, day and year of administration.

6. Nothing in this section shall preclude any political subdivision from adopting more stringent rules regarding the immunization of preschool children.

7. All public, private, and parochial day care centers, preschools, and nursery schools shall notify the parent or guardian of each child at the time of initial enrollment in or attendance at the facility that the parent or guardian may request notice of whether there are children currently enrolled in or attending the facility for whom an immunization exemption has been filed. Beginning December 1, 2015, all public, private, and parochial day care centers, preschools, and nursery schools shall notify the parent or guardian of each child currently enrolled in or attending the facility that the parent or guardian may request notice of whether there are children currently enrolled in or attending the facility for whom an immunization exemption has been filed. Any public, private, or parochial day care center, preschool, or nursery school shall notify the parent or guardian of a child enrolled in or attending the facility, upon request, of whether there are children currently enrolled in or attending the facility for whom an immunization exemption has been filed.

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(L. 1988 S.B. 797 § 1, A.L. 2015 S.B. 341, A.L. 2018 S.B. 819)

CROSS REFERENCES:

Consent to immunization may be delegated to other persons, when, 431.058

Mandatory insurance coverage of immunizations, exceptions, 376.1215