Assembly Bill A10989

                                BILL NUMBER:A10989

TITLE  OF  BILL:   An act to amend the public health law, in relation to
exempting non-resident students at community colleges from the  require-
ment  of  maintaining measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and meningococcal
meningitis records

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: This  bill  would  exempt  non-resident
students at community colleges from certain immunization requirements.

SUMMARY  OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section One of the bill would add a new
subdivision 14 to Section 2165 of the Public Health Law to  exempt  non-
resident  students  at  community  colleges  from  this  section of law.
Section Two of this bill would add a new subdivision 7 to  Section  2167
of  the  Public  Health Law to exempt non-resident students at community
colleges from this section of law.  Section  Three  of  the  bill  would
provide for an immediate effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:  During  the  first  six  months of 1989, 81% of reported
cases of measles in New York State occurred in 12 outbreaks in post-sec-
ondary institutions. These outbreaks resulted from inadequate  immuniza-
tion  or vaccine failure in some students coupled with the close contact
in living and study  quarters  inherent  in  the  college  setting.  The
outbreaks  resulted  in the enactment of Public Health Law (PHL) Section
2165 (effective August 1, 1990) that mandated measles, mumps and rubella
immunizations for all full-time (taking  12  or  more  college  credits)
              

college  students  born  on or after January 1, 1957.  Six months later,
this section required all full time and part time (taking  6-11  college
credits)  college  students  to  comply,  regardless of campus residency
status.

Section 2165 requires that all students provide documentation of immuni-
ty against measles, mumps, and rubella (2 doses of live measles vaccine,
the first dose given on or after the l' birthday, the second given on or
after 15 months): live vaccine must have been given on or  after  111/68
or  evidence  of immunity or evidence from physician that person has had
the disease;  medical  and  religious  exemptions  are  recognized.  PHL
Section  2167  was enacted on August 15, 2003. This section requires all
students be made aware of information about  meningococcal  disease  and
vaccination.  It also requires that all students provide either proof of
immunization to meningitis or submission of a sinned waiver stating that
the signee understands the risks and chooses not to receive the vaccine.

There is some belief by the academic community that  these  sections  of
the  Public  Health  Law  are  ineffective as they apply to colleges and
universities because of the  numerous  situations  that  compromise  the
integrity  of  the  "safety  net"  established by them. Public community
colleges, in particular, are not adequately  served,  based  on  signif-
icantly  different  circumstances  found  between most community college
students, who commute daily between home, campus, and  work,  and  their
4-year  college  and university counterparts who are, for the most part,
based in on-campus residences.  This  difference  has  placed  an  undue

burden  on  public  community  colleges, community college students, and
their families. The vast majority  of  community  college  students  are
commuters  who  live  and  work in every part of their communities, They
present  no  greater risk to the public health than anyone else, as they
do not tend to live and study in the kind of  concentrated  environments
found  on  traditional  residential  campuses and, therefore, present no
more risk to the health of the community than any other person (faculty,
staff program participant, or visitor)  found  on  a  community  college
campus.  No other community college constituency is required to meet the
conditions of these PHL sections. In fact, the majority of  faculty  and
staff  serving  New  York's  community  colleges,  all  of  whom are not
required to comply with this "protection", were born  after  the  111/57
mandated in the law for students.

Many  community  colleges  conduct on-campus study programs with current
high school students, like "Upward Bound" and "STEP." As these  students
are  not  "enrolled",  they  are  not  required to comply with this law.
Medical and  religious  exemptions  arc  recognized  so,  regardless  of
compliance  with  the  law,  not all students will be immunized, leaving
every campus with certain gaps in protection.   Since  1990,  every  New
York  State  kindergartener has been required by law to have been vacci-
nated, or otherwise declared  immune.  This  requirement  should  render
compliance  through  the 2003 PHL Section 2167 mute as no student should
have been allowed into a public school without such documentation.

Many community college students attend college one or two classes  at  a
time,  which  often  places  them below the part-time student (>6 credit
hours) threshold. These students are not required to comply. The cost to
administrate this program, in terms of  additional  staffing;  increased
paperwork  and  filing;  critical  student communications; lost instruc-
tional time; and added counseling loads, is prohibitive,  reaching  into
the  tens of thousands of dollars each year.  Accordingly, this proposal
would exempt  non-resident  students  at  community  colleges  from  the
requirements  in  PHI., Sections 2165 and 2167, based on key and signif-
icant differences in overall living conditions  from  their  4-year  and
university counterparts, that renders these sections ineffective for the
community colleges.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: This is a new bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None to State.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediate.