Parents decry NY law requiring up to date vaccination records, including during virtual learning

Some Long Island students have found themselves getting kicked out of class, even though they're working from home, due to immunization records.

News 12 Staff

Sep 28, 2020, 9:42 PM

Updated 1,549 days ago

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Some Long Island students have found themselves getting kicked out of class, even though they're working from home, due to immunization records.
Copiague High School senior Kayla Kelly says she was kicked out of her third period class without warning because she hadn't received one of her immunizations yet.
State law requires all school kids to have their immunizations up to date a few weeks after school starts, even if they are fully virtual.
The Copiague district says 165 high school students were booted offline Friday because they didn't have updated vaccines. The district says it is just following state law and gave ample notice.
State health officials say, "Every student must get all of the required vaccinations unless they have a valid medical exemption. This applies to all students enrolled in school, regardless if they attend classes in person or remotely."
Kayla's mom Noelle Bogert says she can't understand why the school would take such drastic measures, especially with her daughter learning from home.
"I thought that our kids' educations come first. We have kids locked out of classrooms online where these children are not even in the classroom," says Bogert. "How fair is that? You know it's not. Nobody's suffering except these kids, and I just don't think that's fair."
Other school districts also say they're just following state law and that all students have to have their immunization records up to date, even if the kids are 100% virtual.
They say they may accept a doctor's note for an upcoming immunization visit - which is what Kelly's mother says they did, and she will be back in class Tuesday. Other parents like Michelle Reusch, who has two kids in the Longwood school district, is left worrying as well.
"As far as them being home, there is no reason to cut their education," she says.
Kelly says she wishes she could actually go back to her classroom, but is happy that she'll be back in her virtual classroom come Tuesday. But she worries about other students who may not be able to return and what that will do to their future education.
"It is already hard enough just learning online and now they are shutting down computers because you don't get vaccines and are not learning at all? Like it's already hard enough," she says.