A 1358: Provides a religious exemption from vaccination requirements for school attendance.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1358 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 9, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. DiPIETRO -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to an exemption from certain vaccination requirements for school attendance based upon religious beliefs The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 2164 of the public health law is amended by adding 2 a new subdivision 9 to read as follows: 3 9. This section shall not apply to children whose parent, parents, or 4 guardian hold genuine and sincere religious beliefs which are contrary 5 to the practices herein required, and no certificate shall be required 6 as a prerequisite to such children being admitted or received into 7 school or attending school. 8 § 2. Subdivision 6 of section 2164 of the public health law, as 9 amended by chapter 35 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as 10 follows: 11 6. In the event that a person in parental relation to a child makes 12 application for admission of such child to a school or has a child 13 attending school and there exists no certificate or other acceptable 14 evidence of the child's immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps, 15 measles, diphtheria, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B, pertussis, teta- 16 nus, and, where applicable, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), menin- 17 gococcal disease, and pneumococcal disease, the principal, teacher, 18 owner or person in charge of the school shall inform such person of the 19 necessity to have the child immunized, that such immunization may be 20 administered by any health practitioner, or that the child may be immun- 21 ized without charge by the health officer in the county where the child 22 resides, if such person executes a consent therefor. In the event that 23 such person does not wish to select a health practitioner to administer 24 the immunization, [he or she] such person shall be provided with a form EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01136-01-5 
 A. 1358 2 1 which shall give notice that as a prerequisite to processing the appli- 2 cation for admission to, or for continued attendance at, the school such 3 person shall state a valid reason for withholding consent or consent 4 shall be given for immunization to be administered by a health officer 5 in the public employ, or by a school physician or nurse. The form shall 6 provide for the execution of a consent by such person and it shall also 7 state that such person need not execute such consent if subdivision 8 eight or nine of this section applies to such child. 9 § 3. Paragraph (f) of subdivision 5 of section 2168 of the public 10 health law, as amended by chapter 35 of the laws of 2019, is amended to 11 read as follows: 12 (f) The immunization status of children exempt from immunizations 13 pursuant to subdivision eight of section twenty-one hundred sixty-four 14 of this title and a parent claiming exemption pursuant to subdivision 15 nine of section twenty-one hundred sixty-four of this title shall be 16 reported by the health care provider. 17 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.