preschool, partial vax and religious exemption

[mavery]

My ds is changing to a different preschool in the fall. He is partially vaxed (we did a modified/delayed schedule up to 20 mos and then nothing). At his current school, they know he is partially vaxed since we stopped vaxing around the time he enrolled, and they initially had paperwork showing his vaxes. But all they have on file is the religious exemption.

I went to get the enrollment and med forms for his new school and when the administrator told me about the vax form I told her we would be signing the religious exemption. She asked if he had had any vaxes at all, and I said he did but then we stopped. She asked me to fill in all vaxes he has had, for the school's information. I have no problem with the school having this info, and I would for sure like my ds not to be excluded from school in case of an outbreak of a vpd he has been vaxed for.

So, the questions:
(1) Does it damage my case with the state to fill in on the state form the vaxes he has had and THEN sign the exemption at the bottom? Does anyone know if the state inspects these forms, or if the school just reports how many students have exemptions? (We live in Maryland, btw.) I assume that if the state questioned it I could just say I changed my beliefs, but I'd like to avoid this if poss.

(2) When I mentioned my concern about (1) to the administrator, she said I could list his vaccines on a separate sheet. But does this mean that if the state just sees an exemption, he would have to be excluded in case of an outbreak of some vpd, or is it the school that identifies who gets excluded?
This is related to (1), I guess, since if the state never actually sees the form I have nothing to lose by just listing the vaxes.

Any help? I would like to both protect my exemption and at least get the "benefit" of the vaxes he has had in the form of him not being excluded from school in an outbreak (of those things hes vaxed for)

[wytchywoman]

Originally Posted by mavery

So, the questions:
(1) Does it damage my case with the state to fill in on the state form the vaxes he has had and THEN sign the exemption at the bottom? Does anyone know if the state inspects these forms, or if the school just reports how many students have exemptions? (We live in Maryland, btw.) I assume that if the state questioned it I could just say I changed my beliefs, but I'd like to avoid this if poss.
I am not as wise as our vax elders here, but I think I know the answer to this one because I have worked as a teacher in a preschool for a couple of years. It does not damage your case, and should anyone decide to illegaly question you as to why you vax'd and then declared a religious exemption you can simply tell them you converted to a belief system that does not condone vaxing. It is illegal for someone to grill you on this though. Your faith is not their business. The state does look at the records but only to make sure that the kids who don't have exemptions are up to date. All the state will see is a religious exemption, note that you have filed the proper paperwork, and move on to the next child. Primarily the state views these records to make sure the school itself is complying with state regs regarding school and mandatory vaxing. You filed your exemption and are covered and that is all they care about.

(2) When I mentioned my concern about (1) to the administrator, she said I could list his vaccines on a separate sheet. But does this mean that if the state just sees an exemption, he would have to be excluded in case of an outbreak of some vpd, or is it the school that identifies who gets excluded?
This is related to (1), I guess, since if the state never actually sees the form I have nothing to lose by just listing the vaxes.

I have never had any experience with this, although my son should have been excluded from his SN preschool last year because there was an outbreak of pertussis at his school and he only had one DPT shot so was not fully vax'd against the disease. We were never told not to bring him and I didn't worry about it, to be honst, so he went to school and no one was any wiser for the wear. To the best of my knowledge the school admin or nurse would be the one to make the call as to whether your child can come to school or not. I imagine if an outbreak is serious enough the CDC might become involved and at that point they may be the one to determine your son's attendance, but I suspect that would only be if the outbreak was huge and causing significant health problems to the infected kids, which in that case I would think you would probably want to keep your son home anyway.

Any help? I would like to both protect my exemption and at least get the "benefit" of the vaxes he has had in the form of him not being excluded from school in an outbreak (of those things hes vaxed for)

Like I said, I am no expert, and I live in another state, but I am pretty sure the answer I gave you are correct.HTH.

Namaste,

Michelle

[mavery]

Thanks, that's helpful.