Exclusion of Unimmunized and Under-immunized Students for Vaccine Preventable Communicable Diseases

ADMINISTRATIVE LETTER: 40
POLICY CODE: JLCB

TO: Superintendents of Schools, Private Schools, Special Purpose Private Schools, and School Nurses
FROM: Commissioner Susan A. Gendron, Department of Education
DATE: March 11, 2009
RE: Exclusion of Unimmunized and Under-immunized Students for Vaccine Preventable Communicable Diseases

In accordance with school law (20-A MRSA, Chapter 223, Subchapter 2, §6352-§6359) all students attending school in Maine, in kindergarten through twelfth grade, are required to have proof of vaccine for some infectious diseases. The law further states that “the chief administrative officer shall cause the student to be excluded from school during the period of danger or until the student receives the necessary immunizing agent.” (See 20-A MRSA, §6359.4 Exclusion from school.)

The vaccine preventable communicable diseases for school age children are:

Diphtheria,
Pertussis (Whooping Cough)
Tetanus
Polio
Measles
Rubella
Mumps
Varicella (Chicken Pox)

The school nurse must report these diseases to the Maine Center for Disease Control (Maine CDC). The school unit must contact the Maine CDC at 1-800-821-5821 for guidance on how to proceed with excluding unimmunized or under-immunized students in the event of an outbreak of any of these communicable diseases. Each of the above diseases carries a different transmission pattern, and each outbreak requires a response equal to the scope of the event.

If you have further questions, please contact Nancy Dube RN, School Nurse Consultant, at 207-624-6688, or nancy.dube@maine.gov , or the Maine CDC at 1-800-821-5821, or Kathleen Mahoney, Comprehensive Health Planner 1, DHHS, at 287-3746, or kathleen.mahoney@maine.gov .