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Patricia Julianelle<strong>National</strong> <strong>Law</strong> <strong>Center</strong> on Homeless & PovertyDecember 9, 2003MAMN1. The parent provides the school with a written assurance that the children will beimmunized by private effort within ninety days of enrolling (officially registering)in school or first attendance in school classes, whichever date is the earliest. Thegranting of a 90-day grace period is a one-time provision. A child transferringfrom one school to another within the state may not be granted a second 90-dayperiod. A period of 21 calendar days may be granted to allow for the transfer ofhealth records from one school to another.2. The parent grants written consent for the child’s immunization by a publichealth officer, physician, nurse or other authorized person in the employ, or actingas an agent of the school, where such immunization programs are in effect.”“The Department is aware that this new requirement may constitute a departurewith respect to school districts’ enrollment policies. The immunization statute,G.L.c. 76§15, generally requires students to provide proof of immunization prior toenrollment. Since McKinney-Vento is a federal law, its requirements override thestate immunization law. However, it should be noted that the immunization lawallows, in the absence of a Department of Health declared epidemic or emergency,the enrollment of students who have not been immunized if they have religiousobjections to immunization. Moreover, the Department has consulted with theDepartment of Public Health (DPH) regarding this issue and DPH agrees that, inthe absence of an emergency or epidemic of disease, the health risk of enrollinghomeless students prior to receiving proof of immunization is minimal.If a homeless child or youth arrives lacking immunizations or immunization ormedical records, refer the parent/guardian to the district’s Homeless EducationLiaison, who has the responsibility to obtain relevant academic records,immunizations or immunization or medical records and to ensure that homelessstudents are attending school while the records are obtained.”“The McKinney-Vento Act requires:• All local school districts to immediately enroll students in homeless situations,even if they do not have required documents, such as immunization or medicalrecords…. The term ‘enroll’ is defined under the Act as attending classes andparticipating fully in school activities.MA DOE Homeless EducationAdvisory 2002-2: Enrollment ofHomeless Students and School Records.Available atwww.doe.mass.edu/hssss/haa/advisory2.htmlMN Department of HealthMemorandum re: Immunizations forHomeless Students, 9/10/02The information contained herein is not legal advice and should not be used as a substitute for obtaining professional legal advice.The sharing of this information does not create an attorney-client relationship with any user. This document is the property of the<strong>National</strong> <strong>Law</strong> <strong>Center</strong> on Homelessness & Poverty.5