Vaccination and exemption: Student immunization requirements explained

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - Many students wrapped up their first week of school. By now, districts have ensured their student body has met all requirements to attend a public school, including required vaccines.

While vaccination rates are declining, school administrators say there are still strict requirements they need to meet to ensure health is a top priority. NICE Community School District Superintendent Bryan DeAugustine says his student body is close to 100% vaccinated.

“We’re guided by the state requirements, of course, to have a public school open and operating, so we’re expected to follow the rules set forth by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services,” DeAugustine said.

The required vaccines are for diseases such as whooping cough, measles and chicken pox, which are all highly contagious.

North Star Montessori Academy Principal Angela Chang says the state requires kindergarteners, 7th graders and any new student to submit a vaccine schedule or approved exemption. She says a public school like North Star has to report 90% of waivers or vaccine schedules on record.

“If the school doesn’t provide that evidence of having 90%, then we can lose out on funding,” Chang said.

For children who aren’t vaccinated or don’t have an approved waiver, Superior Law Attorney Tony Ruiz says they won’t be accepted into a public school.

“At that point, the parents would be on the hook for not getting their child to school or attending school, which can obviously be can be an issue in terms of truancy,” Ruiz said.

He says there are two ways for parents to get legal vaccine exemptions. If the child can’t receive a certain vaccination for medical reasons, like an allergy, the parents would need a doctor’s slip. For a philosophical or religious exemption, however, parents must schedule a consultation with a county health department.

“Discussion of the risks and benefits of the vaccine, and like I mentioned, the fact that you need to stay home from school in case there is an outbreak in the school,” said Dr. Robert Van Howe, the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department Medical Director.

He says parents can cite philosophy or religion without an explanation.

After parents receive a signed vaccine waiver from the health department, Ruiz says schools must oblige it.

“I think you’d be opening yourself up to some civil liability or a lawsuit if you weren’t accepting of the requirements to waive once the parent has jumped through those necessary steps,” Ruiz said.

According to 2024 state school immunization data, about 5% to 7% of Marquette County students have waivers.

Even if a student wanted to be immunized, they’d need parental permission. Ruiz says children may have to petition to probate court for emancipation from their guardian to make that choice.

“Legal mechanism to free yourself from that burden from that parent or that guardian’s decision, but in the state of Michigan--parents, guardians--speak for the children,” Ruiz said.

Regardless of parents’ individual choices, North Star and the NICE Community School District say they are prepared to meet the fall virus season head-on. For example, DeAugustine says the district offers flu clinics for students, but they aren’t required.

“So, we monitor any kind of illnesses and numbers of absences and things like that, make sure we’re keeping an eye on how our kids are doing overall as a group and making sure we’re aware of anything that might be going around,” DeAugustine said.

Still, to slow the spread, Chang says North Star follows CDC guidelines and works with students on proper handwashing and cleanliness.

“We have a lot of kids in our building every day, and we just do our best to make sure that everyone can stay healthy,” Chang said.

The National Home Education Research Institute reports that as of Spring 2022, there are about 80,000 to 100,000 homeschooled students in the state. According to the state, parents are not required to report any student data.

As families head into another school year, Dr. Van Howe says vaccines are the best protection against illnesses.

The video above will feature the TV6 livestream until staff can clip the corresponding story, if available, from broadcasts or other TV6 content. You can subscribe to our YouTube page or download TV6+ to stream the latest local news and weather.