(A)

(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, no pupil, at the time of initial entry or at the beginning of each school year, to an elementary or high school for which the state board of education prescribes minimum standards pursuant to division (D) of section 3301.07 of the Revised Code, shall be permitted to remain in school for more than fourteen days unless the pupil presents written evidence satisfactory to the person in charge of admission, that the pupil has been immunized by a method of immunization approved by the department of health pursuant to section 3701.13 of the Revised Code against mumps, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, rubeola, and rubella or is in the process of being immunized.

(2) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, no pupil who begins kindergarten at an elementary school subject to the state board of education's minimum standards shall be permitted to remain in school for more than fourteen days unless the pupil presents written evidence satisfactory to the person in charge of admission that the pupil has been immunized by a department of health-approved method of immunization or is in the process of being immunized against both of the following:

(a) During or after the school year beginning in 1999, hepatitis B;

(b) During or after the school year beginning in 2006, chicken pox.

(3) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, during and after the school year beginning in 2016, no pupil who is the age or older than the age at which immunization against meningococcal disease is recommended by the state department of health shall be permitted to remain in a school subject to the state board of education's minimum standards for more than fourteen days unless the pupil presents written evidence satisfactory to the person in charge of admission that the pupil has been immunized by a department of health-approved method of immunization, or is in the process of being immunized, against meningococcal disease.

(4) As used in divisions (A)(1) , (2), and (3) of this section, "in the process of being immunized" means the pupil has been immunized against mumps, rubeola, rubella, and chicken pox, and if the pupil has not been immunized against poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, and meningococcal disease, the pupil has received at least the first dose of the immunization sequence, and presents written evidence to the pupil's building principal or chief administrative officer of each subsequent dose required to obtain immunization at the intervals prescribed by the director of health. Any student previously admitted under the "in process of being immunized" provision and who has not complied with the immunization intervals prescribed by the director of health shall be excluded from school on the fifteenth day of the following school year. Any student so excluded shall be readmitted upon showing evidence to the student's building principal or chief administrative officer of progress on the director of health's interval schedule.

(B)

(1) A pupil who has had natural rubeola, and presents a signed statement from the pupil's parent, guardian, or physician to that effect, is not required to be immunized against rubeola.

(2) A pupil who has had natural mumps, and presents a signed statement from the pupil's parent, guardian, or physician to that effect, is not required to be immunized against mumps.

(3) A pupil who has had natural chicken pox, and presents a signed statement from the pupil's parent, guardian, or physician to that effect, is not required to be immunized against chicken pox.

(4) A pupil who presents a written statement of the pupil's parent or guardian in which the parent or guardian declines to have the pupil immunized for reasons of conscience, including religious convictions, is not required to be immunized.

(5) A child whose physician certifies in writing that such immunization against any disease is medically contraindicated is not required to be immunized against that disease.

(C) As used in this division, "chicken pox epidemic" means the occurrence of cases of chicken pox in numbers greater than expected in the school's population or for a particular period of time.

Notwithstanding division (B) of this section, a school may deny admission to a pupil otherwise exempted from the chicken pox immunization requirement if the director of the state department of health notifies the school's principal or chief administrative officer that a chicken pox epidemic exists in the school's population. The denial of admission shall cease when the director notifies the principal or officer that the epidemic no longer exists.

The board of education or governing body of each school subject to this section shall adopt a policy that prescribes methods whereby the academic standing of a pupil who is denied admission during a chicken pox epidemic may be preserved.

(D) Boards of health, legislative authorities of municipal corporations, and boards of township trustees on application of the board of education of the district or proper authority of any school affected by this section, shall provide at the public expense, without delay, the means of immunization against mumps, poliomyelitis, rubeola, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and hepatitis B to pupils who are not so provided by their parents or guardians.

(E) The department of health shall specify the age at which immunization against meningococcal disease, as required by division (A)(3) of this section, is recommended, and approve a method of immunization against meningococcal disease.

Amended by 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, SB 121, §1, eff. 10/15/2015.

Effective Date: 09-30-1998; 05-06-2005