Bill Text: VA SB991 | 2023 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Higher educational institutions, public; immunization requirements.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-01-26 - Passed by indefinitely in Education and Health (9-Y 6-N) [SB991 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2023-SB991-Prefiled.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §23.1-800 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§23.1-800. Health histories and immunizations required; exemptions.
A. No full-time student who enrolls for the first time in any
baccalaureate public institution of higher education is eligible to register
for his second semester or quarter unless he
(i) the student has furnished,
before the beginning of the second semester or quarter of enrollment, a health
history consistent with guidelines adopted by each institution's board of
visitors that includes documented evidence, provided by a licensed health
professional or health facility, of the diseases for which the student has been
immunized, the numbers of doses given, the date on which the immunization was
administered, and any further immunizations indicated or (ii) the student or, if the
student is a minor, the student's parent or
legal guardian objects to such health history requirement
on religious grounds, in which case he the student is exempt from
such requirement.
B. Prior to enrollment for the first time in any baccalaureate
public institution of higher education, each student shall be immunized by
vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis, measles (rubeola), German
measles (rubella), meningococcal disease, hepatitis
B, and mumps according to the guidelines of the American College Health Association Board of Health.
C. Prior to enrollment for
the first time in any baccalaureate public institution of higher education,
each full-time student shall be vaccinated against meningococcal disease and
hepatitis B unless the student or, if the student is a minor, the student's
parent or legal guardian signs a written waiver stating that he has received
and reviewed detailed information on the risks associated with meningococcal
disease and hepatitis B and the availability and effectiveness of any vaccine
and has chosen not to be or not to have the student vaccinated.
D. Any
student is exempt from the immunization requirements set forth in subsections subsection B and C who (i) objects or, if the
student is a minor, whose parent or legal guardian objects
on the grounds that administration of immunizing agents conflicts with his
religious tenets or practices, unless the Board of
Health has declared an emergency or epidemic of disease, or (ii) presents a statement from a licensed physician
that states that his physical condition is such that administration of one or
more of the required immunizing agents would be detrimental to his health.
E. D. The
Board and Commissioner of Health shall cooperate with any board of visitors
seeking assistance in the implementation of this section.
F. E. The
Council shall, in cooperation with the Board and Commissioner of Health,
encourage private institutions of higher education to develop a procedure for
providing information about the risks associated with meningococcal disease and
hepatitis B and the availability and effectiveness of any vaccine against
meningococcal disease and hepatitis B.
F. The General Assembly shall have the sole authority to impose immunization requirements on students enrolled in public institutions of higher education. No public institution of higher education shall revise its institutional policies relating to immunization requirements unless such revision is consistent with or necessary to effectuate the regulations developed by the Board of Health and the provisions of law enacted by the General Assembly. Any policy of a public institution of higher education relating to immunization requirements shall be void to the extent that it is inconsistent with the law of the Commonwealth.