Bill Text: TX HB807 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to immunization requirements.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-01 - Referred to Public Health [HB807 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB807-Introduced.html

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By: Harrison H.B. No. 807

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to immunization requirements.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 38.001, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 38.001. IMMUNIZATION; REQUIREMENTS; EXCEPTIONS. (a)
Each student shall be fully immunized against diphtheria, rubeola,
rubella, mumps, tetanus, and poliomyelitis, except as provided by
Subsection (c).
(b) Subject to Subsections (b-1) and (c), the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission may modify
or delete any of the immunizations in Subsection (a) or may require
immunizations against additional diseases as a requirement for
admission to any elementary or secondary school.
(b) Subject to Subsection (c), the Department of State
Health Services may modify or delete any of the immunizations in
Subsection (a) or may require immunizations against additional
diseases as a requirement for admission to any elementary or
secondary school.The list in Subsection (a) may only be modified
by statute.
(b-1) Each year, the Department of State Health Services
shall prepare a list of the immunizations required under this
sectionSubsection (a) for admission to public schools and of any
additional immunizations the department recommends for school-age
children. The department shall prepare the list in English and
Spanish and make the list available in a manner that permits a
school district to easily post the list on the district's Internet
website as required by Section 38.019.
(b-2) No government entity can compel or require an
individual to receive a vaccine, not listed in Subsection (a),
including but not limited to those listed on the Federal Centers for
Disease Control and Preventions Immunization Schedules.
(c) Immunization is not required for a person's admission to
any elementary or secondary school if the person applying for
admission:
(1) submits to the admitting official:
(A) an affidavit or a certificate signed by a
physician who is duly registered and licensed to practice medicine
in the United States, in which it is stated that, in the physician's
opinion, the immunization required poses a significant risk to the
health and well-being of the applicant or any member of the
applicant's family or household; or
(B) an affidavit signed by the applicant or, if a
minor, by the applicant's parent or guardian stating that the
applicant declines immunization for reasons of conscience,
including a religious belief; or
(2) is a member of the armed forces of the United
States and is on active duty.
(c-1) An affidavit submitted under Section (c)(1)(B) must
be on a form described by Section 161.0041, Health and Safety Code,
and must be submitted to the admitting official not later than the
90th day after the date the affidavit is notarized.
(d) The Department of State Health Services shall provide
the required immunization to children in areas where no local
provision exists to provide those services.
(e) A person may be provisionally admitted to an elementary
or secondary school if the person has begun the required
immunizations and if the person continues to receive the necessary
immunizations as rapidly as is medically feasible. The Department
of State Health Services shall adopt rules relating to the
provisional admission of persons to an elementary or secondary
school.
(f) A person who has not received the immunizations required
by this section for reasons of conscience, including because of the
person's religious beliefs, may be excluded from school in times of
emergency or epidemic declared by the commissioner of public
health.
SECTION 2. Sections 81.023, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The executive commissioner may recommend to the
legislature immunizations to include on the list of immunizations
requireddepartment shall develop immunization requirements for
children under Education Code Section 38.001(a).
(b) The department shall cooperate with the Department of
Family and Protective Services in formulating and implementing the
immunization requirements for children admitted to child-care
facilities.
(c) The department shall cooperate with the State Board of
Education in formulating and implementing immunization
requirements for students admitted to public or private primary or
secondary schools.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.