Unvaccinated students and disease outbreaks: A review of the legal authority and challenges to school exclusion laws

Every state requires students be immunized against certain communicable diseases and every state allows some type of exemption to the immunization requirements (e.g., medical, religious, and/or personal belief). Several states also have laws authorizing health or education officials at the state and local levels to temporarily exclude unvaccinated children from school during a communicable disease outbreak. These policies are important control measures used to reduce and prevent the spread and incidence of communicable disease. It’s not unheard of for state immunization requirements to be challenged as a violation of individual rights. Claims against the temporary exclusion laws have been rare, perhaps nonexistent, and a recent legal challenge to the New York law authorizing temporary exclusions provides an example of how such claims come about and are decided. This presentation will examine state school exclusion laws and review how some states are implementing such policies. The presentation will also explore the public health and legal basis for temporary school exclusion laws and policies and explore legal challenges to the laws.