S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8378
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
October 20, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring immuni-
zation against COVID-19
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 2164 of the public health law, as amended by chap-
ter 401 of the laws of 2015, subdivisions 6 and 7 as amended by chapter
35 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
§ 2164. Definitions; immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps,
measles, diphtheria, rubella, varicella, Haemophilus influenzae type b
(Hib), pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease,
[and] hepatitis B, AND COVID-19. 1. As used in this section, unless the
context requires otherwise:
a. The term "school" means and includes any public, private or paro-
chial child caring center, day nursery, day care agency, nursery school,
kindergarten, elementary, intermediate or secondary school.
b. The term "child" shall mean and include any person between the ages
of two months and eighteen years.
c. The term "person in parental relation to a child" shall mean and
include his father or mother, by birth or adoption, his legally
appointed guardian, or his custodian. A person shall be regarded as the
custodian of a child if he has assumed the charge and care of the child
because the parents or legally appointed guardian of the minor have
died, are imprisoned, are mentally ill, or have been committed to an
institution, or because they have abandoned or deserted such child or
are living outside the state or their whereabouts are unknown, or have
designated the person pursuant to title fifteen-A of article five of the
general obligations law as a person in parental relation to the child.
d. The term "health practitioner" shall mean any person authorized by
law to administer an immunization.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13054-02-1
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2. a. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state shall
have administered to such child an adequate dose or doses of an immuniz-
ing agent against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, rubella,
varicella, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), pertussis, tetanus,
pneumococcal disease, [and] hepatitis B, AND COVID-19, which meets the
standards approved by the United States public health service for such
biological products, and which is approved by the department under such
conditions as may be specified by the public health AND HEALTH PLANNING
council.
b. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state born on
or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-four and entering sixth
grade or a comparable age level special education program with an unas-
signed grade on or after September first, two thousand seven, shall have
administered to such child a booster immunization containing diphtheria
and tetanus toxoids, and an acellular pertussis vaccine, which meets the
standards approved by the United States public health service for such
biological products, and which is approved by the department under such
conditions as may be specified by the public health AND HEALTH PLANNING
council.
c. Every person in parental relation to a child in this state entering
or having entered seventh grade and twelfth grade or a comparable age
level special education program with an unassigned grade on or after
September first, two thousand sixteen, shall have administered to such
child an adequate dose or doses of immunizing agents against meningococ-
cal disease as recommended by the advisory committee on immunization
practices of the centers for disease control and prevention, which meets
the standards approved by the United States public health service for
such biological products, and which is approved by the department under
such conditions as may be specified by the public health and HEALTH
planning council.
3. The person in parental relation to any such child who has not
previously received such immunization shall present the child to a
health practitioner and request such health practitioner to administer
the necessary immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles,
diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), rubella, varicella,
pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease, [and]
hepatitis B, AND COVID-19, as provided in subdivision two of this
section.
4. If any person in parental relation to such child is unable to pay
for the services of a private health practitioner, such person shall
present such child to the health officer of the county in which the
child resides, who shall then administer the immunizing agent without
charge.
5. The health practitioner who administers such immunizing agent
against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, Haemophilus influen-
zae type b (Hib), rubella, varicella, pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal
disease, meningococcal disease, [and] hepatitis B, AND COVID-19 to any
such child shall give a certificate of such immunization to the person
in parental relation to such child.
6. In the event that a person in parental relation to a child makes
application for admission of such child to a school or has a child
attending school and there exists no certificate or other acceptable
evidence of the child's immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps,
measles, diphtheria, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B, pertussis, teta-
nus, COVID-19, and, where applicable, Haemophilus influenzae type b
(Hib), meningococcal disease, and pneumococcal disease, the principal,
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teacher, owner or person in charge of the school shall inform such
person of the necessity to have the child immunized, that such immuniza-
tion may be administered by any health practitioner, or that the child
may be immunized without charge by the health officer in the county
where the child resides, if such person executes a consent therefor. In
the event that such person does not wish to select a health practitioner
to administer the immunization, he or she shall be provided with a form
which shall give notice that as a prerequisite to processing the appli-
cation for admission to, or for continued attendance at, the school such
person shall state a valid reason for withholding consent or consent
shall be given for immunization to be administered by a health officer
in the public employ, or by a school physician or nurse. The form shall
provide for the execution of a consent by such person and it shall also
state that such person need not execute such consent if subdivision
eight of this section applies to such child.
7. (a) No principal, teacher, owner or person in charge of a school
shall permit any child to be admitted to such school, or to attend such
school, in excess of fourteen days, without the certificate provided for
in subdivision five of this section or some other acceptable evidence of
the child's immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphthe-
ria, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B, pertussis, tetanus, COVID-19, and,
where applicable, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), meningococcal
disease, and pneumococcal disease; provided, however, such fourteen day
period may be extended to not more than thirty days for an individual
student by the appropriate principal, teacher, owner or other person in
charge where such student is transferring from out-of-state or from
another country and can show a good faith effort to get the necessary
certification or other evidence of immunization or where the parent,
guardian, or any other person in parental relationship to such child can
demonstrate that a child has received at least the first dose in each
immunization series required by this section and has age appropriate
appointments scheduled to complete the immunization series according to
the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Recommended Immuniza-
tion Schedules for Persons Aged 0 through 18 Years.
(b) A parent, a guardian or any other person in parental relationship
to a child denied school entrance or attendance may appeal by petition
to the commissioner of education in accordance with the provisions of
section three hundred ten of the education law.
8. If any physician licensed to practice medicine in this state certi-
fies that such immunization may be detrimental to a child's health, the
requirements of this section shall be inapplicable until such immuniza-
tion is found no longer to be detrimental to the child's health.
8-a. Whenever a child has been refused admission to, or continued
attendance at, a school as provided for in subdivision seven of this
section because there exists no certificate provided for in subdivision
five of this section or other acceptable evidence of the child's immuni-
zation against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, rubella, vari-
cella, hepatitis B, pertussis, tetanus, COVID-19, and, where applicable,
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), meningococcal disease, and pneumo-
coccal disease, the principal, teacher, owner or person in charge of the
school shall:
a. forward a report of such exclusion and the name and address of such
child to the local health authority and to the person in parental
relation to the child together with a notification of the responsibility
of such person under subdivision two of this section and a form of
consent as prescribed by regulation of the commissioner, and
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b. provide, with the cooperation of the appropriate local health
authority, for a time and place at which an immunizing agent or agents
shall be administered, as required by subdivision two of this section,
to a child for whom a consent has been obtained. Upon failure of a local
health authority to cooperate in arranging for a time and place at which
an immunizing agent or agents shall be administered as required by
subdivision two of this section, the commissioner shall arrange for such
administration and may recover the cost thereof from the amount of state
aid to which the local health authority would otherwise be entitled.
10. The commissioner may adopt and amend rules and regulations to
effectuate the provisions and purposes of this section.
11. Every school shall annually provide the commissioner, on forms
provided by the commissioner, a summary regarding compliance with the
provisions of this section.
§ 2. Subdivision 7 of section 2164 of the public health law, as
amended by chapter 401 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as
follows:
7. (a) No principal, teacher, owner or person in charge of a school
shall permit any child to be admitted to such school, or to attend such
school, in excess of fourteen days, without the certificate provided for
in subdivision five of this section or some other acceptable evidence of
the child's immunization against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphthe-
ria, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B, pertussis, tetanus, COVID-19, and,
where applicable, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), meningococcal
disease, and pneumococcal disease; provided, however, such fourteen day
period may be extended to not more than thirty days for an individual
student by the appropriate principal, teacher, owner or other person in
charge where such student is transferring from out-of-state or from
another country and can show a good faith effort to get the necessary
certification or other evidence of immunization.
(b) A parent, a guardian or any other person in parental relationship
to a child denied school entrance or attendance may appeal by petition
to the commissioner of education in accordance with the provisions of
section three hundred ten of the education law.
§ 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 613 of the public
health law, as amended by section 24 of part E of chapter 56 of the laws
of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The commissioner shall develop and supervise the execution of a
program of immunization, surveillance and testing, to raise to the high-
est reasonable level the immunity of the children of the state against
communicable diseases including, but not limited to, influenza, poliom-
yelitis, measles, mumps, rubella, haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib),
diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, COVID-19, varicella, hepatitis B, pneu-
mococcal disease, and the immunity of adults of the state against
diseases identified by the commissioner, including but not limited to
influenza, smallpox, hepatitis and such other diseases as the commis-
sioner may designate through regulation. Municipalities in the state
shall maintain local programs of immunization to raise the immunity of
the children and adults of each municipality to the highest reasonable
level, in accordance with an application for state aid submitted by the
municipality and approved by the commissioner. Such programs shall
include assurance of provision of vaccine, serological testing of indi-
viduals and educational efforts to inform health care providers and
target populations or their parents, if they are minors, of the facts
relative to these diseases and immunizations to prevent their occur-
rence.
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§ 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after the date
upon which an immunizing agent against COVID-19 for which the United
States Food and Drug Administration has issued a biologics license is
recommended by majority vote of the advisory committee on immunization
practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; provided
that:
(a) the commissioner of health shall notify the legislative bill
drafting commission upon the occurrence of both such approval and such
recommendation in order that the commission may maintain an accurate and
timely effective data base of the official text of the laws of the state
of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions of section 44
of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public officers law; and
(b) the amendments to subdivision 7 of section 2164 of the public
health law made by section one of this act shall be subject to the expi-
ration and reversion of such subdivision pursuant to section 4 of chap-
ter 35 of the laws of 2019 when upon such date the provisions of section
two of this act shall take effect.
Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any
rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its
effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such
date.