As you are likely aware, on August 1, 2017, new requirements for school immunizations went into effect for the 2017-18 school year. These new regulations shorten the provisional enrollment period for students who are not fully immunized from eight months to five days, and update some vaccination requirements for school-age children. The regulations apply for all students in Pennsylvania’s K-12 schools, including public and private schools. Additional information regarding these new regulations is available on the PA Department of Health’s webpage:http://www.health.pa.gov/My%20Health/Immunizations/School/Pages/default.aspx.

The Department has recently updated its basic education circular (BEC) regarding School Immunizations to reflect requirements under Pennsylvania’s new health regulations.  This revised BEC aims to address many of the questions that PDE has received from local educational agencies (LEAs) regarding implementation of these new requirements. The attached BEC is also available on PDE’s website:http://www.education.pa.gov/Pages/Codes%20and%20Regulations/Basic-Education-Circulars.aspx#tab-1.

Additional questions regarding the guidance and recommendations contained within the BEC should be directed to Jeanette Medina, School Services Office, at 717-214-9755 or [email protected].  Questions related to the new school immunization requirements and available resources should be directed to the PA Department of Health’s Division of Immunizations at 717-787-5681.

New state regulations regarding required student immunizations got underway as schools opened their doors for the 2017-18 school year. Included in the new requirements is the need for seniors to have a received a second meningitis vaccine by the fifth day of school. This is in addition to the first meningitis vaccine, which is required prior to entering seventh grade. School officials across the commonwealth have been working hard to get students into compliance, and most have significantly pared down the number of students who have yet to comply with the new regs. Many students are being allowed to stay in school as long as they can provide proof that required vaccinations are scheduled with a healthcare professional, or if they have a religious or medical reason for not getting immunized. In many cases, school nurses and pupil services administrators have led the charge in helping to bring students into compliance, and numbers of students in jeopardy of being excluded from school have been greatly diminished. At the Bangor Area School District, Student Services Director Dr. Joseph Kondisko reported that there were initially nearly 500 students out of compliance. That number was whittled down to 48 by the time school began. Ultimately, only five students were excluded, but they have already returned to school. Dr. Kondisko also reported that at Bangor many parents had followed through on getting their students immunized, but held off on providing the needed documentation to the school. Please visit the drop-down titled State under the Government link on this site for more information.

As of the date this newsletter was published, Pennsylvania’s $2.2 billion budget gap had not yet been filled and Governor Tom Wolf was indicating the commonwealth could be heading for major spending freezes. By September 15, the governor said he either has to put spending for certain state programs on hold, or borrow more money from the Treasury. He also stated that he does not want to borrow without a balanced budget. The House is not scheduled to return until September 11, and it was unclear if they would have a compromise in place by then. The Treasury projected that the general fund would hit zero by the end of August. A spokesman said September 15 is the day a significant Medicaid provider payment is due, which would put the fund $1.6 billion underwater. However, payments cannot be made unless some additional revenue is found. House Republican leaders say their caucus still disagrees regarding the tax increases in the Senate proposal. Additional information can be found in the links above.