Do parents have a right to request information regarding which children in their child’s class are not vaccinated?
Under current laws, the decision to exempt one’s child from the rigid and questionably-safe recommended vaccination schedule is to be kept confidential and personal. However, if Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has its way, public schools will be required to publicly reveal this information to all parents and guardians with children enrolled in a particular district – a maneuver that, depending upon your viewpoint, provides necessary health information or is calculated to bring shame and public ridicule upon parents choosing to forego vaccinating their children.
Currently, there are 21 states which allow districts to post aggregate, comprehensive data about their student population and its vaccination record. This data does not specifically recognize rates within certain grades or classrooms, however the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are urging states to make this data more readily available.
Under its ongoing proposals, the CDC would like to see districts implement color-coded maps of districts – a practice already implemented in the majority of California public and private schools. The maps would represent various “levels of vulnerability,” with a red area indicating the most vulnerable (less than 79.9 percent fully vaccinated) and a green area indicating that 95 to 100 percent of students are fully vaccinated.
Moreover, the CDC is urging districts to post the following specific data in order to give parents the most comprehensive information regarding vaccination rates:
- Total number of sick days taken by children in the district due to illness
- Percentage of enrolled students infected with transmittable diseases, including HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis and syphilis
- Number of students receiving treatments for asthma, diabetes, ADHD, epilepsy, anxiety, bipolar disorder and depression
- Percentage of fully vaccinated children who have contracted infectious diseases in spite of being vaccinated.
If you are a parent and have questions about your child’s rights concerning vaccination, please contact the Law Offices of Leah V. Durant & Associates to discuss vaccine law in your state. Specializing in vaccine injury claims throughout the country, Leah Durant can be reached at 202-775-9200.