Finding a Preschool for An Unwaxed Foreign Child in US

[danten]

Hi,

Our child had no vaccination previously, we are planning to live in the US for the next 10 months, and we want to send him to a preschool during this time.

I will appreciate to get some help about what are the chances of being accepted to a preschool for a foreign child with no vax at all.

can we use the exemption route, or is it only valid for US citizens.

should we maybe talk directly with a couple preschools before we travel to US?

If we can't find a preschool,we will have to leave the country. So it will be very helpful if anyone has any experience or idea about what options we have, or what route should we follow.

In case it might help, we will travel to Los Angeles, and our boy is 3 years old.

Thanks for any help

[Deborah]

California has easy exemptions for school. Not sure if they apply to preschools, but they probably do.

I can't see how they would apply exemptions differently for visitors than for citizens. That would be weird.

I'd suggest just calling up two or three preschools at random and asking if they accept the normal California vaccine exemption paperwork.

[danten]

Thanks Deborah - I will call a couple preschools tomorrow - Good to hear that the schools not very strict for exemptions in California.

Originally Posted by Deborah

California has easy exemptions for school. Not sure if they apply to preschools, but they probably do.

I can't see how they would apply exemptions differently for visitors than for citizens. That would be weird.

I'd suggest just calling up two or three preschools at random and asking if they accept the normal California vaccine exemption paperwork.

[EVC]

My dd is in pre-school in California. She is also foreign-born (but she has US citizenship). Anyway, it really is as easy as can be and citizenship/country of birth has NOTHING to do with it.

The only thing to remember is that private pre-schools are NOT obligated to accept exemptions (although many private pre-schools do accept them). However, a pre-school that receives at least SOME state funding MUST accept your exemption.

[Gitti]

Your best bet would be a Montessori or Waldorf school. Also there is no difference whether you are a citizen or not. The laws apply equally.

btw, there are no vaccine laws in the US. Vaccines are only mandated for school, day care and every state has some exemption. (Virginia and Mississippi only have medical exemptions.)

[danten]

Thanks EVC and Gitti for your help.

Good news. I have called 2 pre-schools and both said they do accept exemptions. It was easier than I thought.

Thanks for your support

[Gitti]

It is always nice to hear good news.