Bill Text: NY A08231 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Directs schools to provide information on meningococcal disease immunization to students and parents of students in seventh grade, and requires such schools to maintain record of responses as to whether such students have received such immunization.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-06-11 - reported referred to ways and means [A08231 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-A08231-Amended.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        8231--B
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                     June 7, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M. of A. PEOPLES-STOKES -- read once and referred to the
         Committee on Health -- recommitted  to  the  Committee  on  Health  in
         accordance  with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
         amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
         tee  --  again  reported  from said committee with amendments, ordered
         reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
       AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to raising the  level
         of immunity of children against meningococcal disease
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1.  Section 2167 of the public health law, as added by chapter
    2  165 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
    3    S 2167. Immunization against meningococcal meningitis. 1. As  used  in
    4  this section, unless the context requires otherwise:
    5    a.  The term "student" means [a] ANY person WHO IS IN SEVENTH GRADE OR
    6  A COMPARABLE AGE LEVEL SPECIAL  EDUCATION  PROGRAM  WITH  AN  UNASSIGNED
    7  GRADE  AT  A  SCHOOL,  OR attending an institution and, in the case of a
    8  student attending college, "student" means a person who is registered to
    9  attend or who attends classes at an institution, who is enrolled for  at
   10  least  six  semester  hours  or the equivalent per semester, or at least
   11  four semester hours per quarter.
   12    b. The term "institution" means an academy or college, as  defined  in
   13  section  two  of  the  education  law, or a children's overnight camp as
   14  defined in section one thousand three hundred ninety-two of  this  chap-
   15  ter, where the person attending such camp remains overnight for a period
   16  of not fewer than seven days.
   17    c.  The  term  "immunization"  means  an  adequate dose or doses of an
   18  immunizing agent against meningococcal meningitis which meets the stand-
   19  ards approved by the  United  States  public  health  service  for  such
   20  biological  products  and which is approved by the department under such
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD11275-11-2
       A. 8231--B                          2
    1  conditions as may be specified by the public health AND HEALTH  PLANNING
    2  council.
    3    D.   THE TERM "SCHOOL" MEANS ANY PUBLIC, PRIVATE OR PAROCHIAL INTERME-
    4  DIATE OR SECONDARY SCHOOL.
    5    2. Each institution AND SCHOOL shall distribute, in a form provided or
    6  approved by the commissioner, written  information  about  meningococcal
    7  meningitis  and meningitis immunization to all students. The information
    8  provided by the institution OR SCHOOL shall include, but not be  limited
    9  to, the following:
   10    a. a description of the disease and means of transmission;
   11    b. the benefits, risks, and effectiveness of immunization;
   12    c.  the availability and cost of immunization, including an indication
   13  of whether or not the institution OR SCHOOL offers meningococcal mening-
   14  itis immunization services.
   15    3. Each institution AND  SCHOOL  shall  also  distribute,  in  a  form
   16  provided  or  approved by the commissioner [of health], a response form,
   17  to be completed by the student or, where the student is under the age of
   18  eighteen years, such student's parent or guardian, which  shall  include
   19  the following:
   20    a.  The  student,  or if under the age of eighteen years the parent or
   21  guardian of the student, certifies that the student has already received
   22  immunization against  meningococcal  meningitis  within  the  ten  years
   23  preceding the date of the response form;
   24    b.  The  student,  or if under the age of eighteen years the parent or
   25  guardian of such student, has  received  and  reviewed  the  information
   26  provided by the institution OR SCHOOL, understands the risks of meningo-
   27  coccal meningitis and the benefits of immunization, and has decided that
   28  the student shall not obtain immunization against meningococcal meningi-
   29  tis.
   30    The student, or if under the age of eighteen years the parent or guar-
   31  dian  of  such  student,  shall indicate his or her decision in a box or
   32  space placed appropriately on the form and shall  return  the  completed
   33  form to the institution OR SCHOOL.  Nothing in this subdivision shall be
   34  construed  to  prohibit  an institution OR SCHOOL from incorporating the
   35  form required by this subdivision into  another  health  certificate  or
   36  form required by the institution OR SCHOOL.
   37    4.  Each institution AND SCHOOL shall maintain [completed] A RECORD OF
   38  THE response [forms].
   39    5. No institution shall permit any student to attend  the  institution
   40  in  excess of thirty days without complying with this section; provided,
   41  however, that such thirty day period may be extended to  not  more  than
   42  sixty days if a student can show a good faith effort to comply with this
   43  section.
   44    6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit institutions
   45  AND SCHOOLS from adopting or maintaining more stringent policies regard-
   46  ing immunization against meningococcal meningitis.
   47    S  2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2013; provided, that, effec-
   48  tive immediately, any actions necessary to implement the  provisions  of
   49  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are  authorized  and directed to be
   50  completed on or before such date.