The Department of State Health Services issued an emergency rule Aug. 24, 2009 that permits schools to provisionally enroll students until September 30, 2009 that may not have the required vaccinations for the 2009-2010 school year.

Originally, a March 2009 amendment required three additional vaccinations for school entry for the 2009-2010 school year. Students who had not received the shots couldn’t enroll in school until they received these age-appropriate immunizations, with very few limited exceptions.

Many students were unable to complete these vaccinations before Aug. 24, 2009, the first day of public school for 2009, which would have left thousands of Texas students unable to attend school, missing days to weeks of education.

Because the state believes preventing students from attending school deprives them of access to education, school-based health services, free and reduced cost lunches, and other public health programs provided through public and private schools, students who haven’t received one or more of these three vaccinations may be provisionally enrolled in school through Sept. 30, 2009.

A student is not required to be vaccinated according to the schedule for the three vaccines until Oct. 1, 2009. The schedule for one or more of the vaccines may be delayed beyond this date if for a good cause determined by the commissioner of the department.

This emergency rule will delay the following requirements for receiving the following vaccines:

• Meningococcal vaccine
• Tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis (Tdap) vaccines for Texas students entering 7th grade and boosters for students entering grades 8-12
• Varicella vaccine for students entering kindergarten and those entering 7th grade.