First Tri-City students banned from school under new vaccine law. More may be coming

Nine Pasco students are banned from returning to school after they couldn’t show that they’d received the vaccine against the measles, mumps and rubella.

Pasco is the first Tri-City school district to publicly report keeping kids out of class after a 2019 change in state law eliminated one of the three reasons parents used for not getting their children immunized.

The law went into effect July 28, and affected hundreds of parents across the Tri-Cities who said they had a personal or philosophical reason for not getting their children the MMR vaccine.

Parents can still get religious or medical exemptions, and the move only affects the MMR vaccine, according to the state Department of Health.

The law made headlines statewide this week when Seattle School District kept 476 students out of classes, reported the Seattle Times.

Since last fall, nearly 350 parents in the Kennewick and Richland school districts were sent letters about the legal change. So far, no students have been kept out of Richland schools.

And in Kennewick, district officials said each school is handling the issue, and they could not say if any students were stopped from attending classes.

Statewide, there were 86 measles cases in two outbreaks in 2019, mostly affecting infants, toddlers and young children, said the state Department of Health. The state also had one other measles case that was isolated.

It was the most cases in the state since 1990, according to the department.

The majority of children affected in the outbreaks weren’t vaccinated. And the bulk of those cases were in Clark County, which had lower immunization rates than much of the state.

Tri-Cities immunization rates

The immunization rates for Tri-Cities school districts were already higher than the state average before the new law took effect, according to state health figures.

Last year, Pasco had the smallest percentage of students without immunizations at 1.5 percent, and 3.3 percent in Kennewick and 3.5 percent in Richland were not vaccinated.

The personal exemption was the most common reason given by parents last year at all three districts.

While the exemption changed, the requirement for schools to collect immunization information hasn’t.

The paperwork needs to be filed on the first day of classes. Children in the process of getting the two-stage MMR vaccine can attend class for 30 days while awaiting the second dose.

The state law makes it the “duty of the administrator” to keep students out of class if they don’t meet the immunization requirements, but it’s up to school districts on how it’s enforced.

“Many schools have some children who are out of compliance because they have not turned in proper paperwork,” said Kristen Maki with the Department of Health. “DOH does not have a role in enforcing these requirements.”

Letters sent last fall

This fall school officials sent out about 570 notifications to parents across the Tri-Cities. Nurses in the three biggest school districts have been working with families since this fall to make sure children are vaccinated.

Pasco started the school year by sending out 200 letters to parents.

They followed up with letters in October giving them two weeks to get into compliance. The schools have been working with families who want to comply, said Shane Edinger, the district’s director of public affairs.

“If a family can show proof that they have an appointment with a doctor to help them resolve their compliance issue or that they are in the process of getting an exemption from the state, then the student is allowed to remain in school.”

The parents of the nine students prevented from going to class haven’t made any effort to get the vaccination, he said.

The students can return when their parents show they either received the vaccination or have a medical or religious exemption.

Kennewick and Richland schools

Kennewick school officials sent out 171 letters last fall.

The district did not have information available for the number of students who either received the immunization or were prevented from returning to school.

School nurses sent the information about vaccinations directly to the state and district leaders were not given the numbers, said Robyn Chastain, the director of communications and public relations.

State officials told the Herald it will take until May for them to compile the statewide numbers.

In early December, Richland had 173 students who didn’t have valid exemptions on file or proof of the vaccination. Notices were sent to their families.

Ty Beaver, the district’s communication director, said the district is handling the issue at the school level, and principals have the final say on whether students will be kept out class. As of Jan. 2, no students were excluded.