Non vax families in Ma and public schools

[zippora]

Happy snow day everyone!
I had asked this question to families in Arlington Ma,with no response,so I'll try to rephrase:

Are there any families in Ma that have used the religious exemption when registering for kindergarden ?
What was your experience? what form did you use ?  
At a recent meeting at the school our child will be attending the nurse gave her speech about mandatory Vaxes and under her breath said there are some exceptions.
We are a bit nervous about this so any advice would be greatly welcome

[DaughterOfKali]

Read THIS thread.

[zippora]

Thanks so much for the info!

[pjsmom30]

yes, read that thread, and know that it has been so easy for us. No troubles so far at all. 

[trauerweidchen]

Thanks for asking this! I just joined the Arlington list since we just moved here last fall, and I've been wondering the same thing. Moving from a state with philosophical exemptions to one with religious/medical only has made me nervous. I'm considering starting to vaccinate DS at age 2 partially to deal with this issue.   Without a family/friend network here I'm wondering about daycare/other programs just to get him socialized and to get myself a bit of a break, and his vaccination status is definitely on my mind. Off to read the linked thread...

[zippora]

Thanks again for all the info everyone.  Our child's registration for kindergardten is coming up this Tuesday and we are getting nervous.  It seems that the Mass immunization exemption codes stated in the former responses were for Preschool & day care settings.  I believe there is a separate set of codes for K-12 in Massachusetts.  Does anyone know what they are?

Thanks again!

[jessjgh1]

This was on an older thread:

To Whom It May Concern:

Statement of Exemption:
I hereby claim exemption for my child, name, from the Massachusetts immunization requirements. I am exempting my child from vaccination because it conflicts with my sincerely held religious belief.

Sincerely,


220.500: Immunization Requirements for Preschool, Elementary, Middle and High School Students
(C) The requirements in 105 CMR 220.500 (A) and (B) shall not apply:
(1) upon presentation of written documentation that the student meets the standards for medical or religious exemption set forth in M.G.L. c. 76, ss 15;

[zippora]

Thank you !!!!

[massmamaoftwo]

I'm totally new at this. Literally just starting searching this forum because I have been sick about the conversation I had with the my daughters preschool director in Arlington MA!!!! You have no idea how happy I am to find a thread with some Arlington mamas on it. I could seriously cry. I literally live in fear of people finding out that my dd 4 and ds 2 are not vax. My dd is attending preschool for the first time this year and I was cornered by the school today asking about the vax documents they hadn't received from me yet. I wrote them a religious exemption letter in July with the rest of her paperwork and they claimed today they never got it. UGH! Passing in another tomorrow and hoping this will be the end of this. I got several questions from the director about not being vax and I think I handled it pretty well even though I seriously wanted to throw up in her office! Short story long....Hello Arlington moms!!