Our letter to CDPH caused them to update their Medical Exemption Guidelines FAQ!

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On August 19, 2020 the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) updated its Vaccination FAQ website providing guidance to parents and directives to schools that contradict the statute language and intent expressed by Governor Newsom and Senator Pan during the legislative process. On September 1, A Voice for Choice Advocacy responded with a letter outlining in detail the new vaccine medical exemption law and the intent of the legislators ( [link removed] ). We also created a letter writing campaign for parent to share their stories. Thank you to the 80+ people who did! We asked CDPH to immediately modify their guidance document, Vaccinations and Medical Exemption Questions and Answers , to accurately reflect both the wording and intent of SB 714, which expressly grandfathers students' permanent medical exemptions through the end of a gradespan (Preschool-TK/K, TK/K-6 th , and 7-12 th ).

Today we received a response that CDPH has updated their medical exemption guidelines:

Ms. Hildebrand,

Thank you for your email. After further review, CDPH has modified several of the responses to the FAQs posted on the shots for school website on August 19, 2020 ( [link removed] [[link removed]] ). At this time, currently valid medical exemption forms will be accepted when a student changes schools or child care facilities within the same grade span. The question and response to #10 has been removed from the FAQ document. Responses to questions seven and eight have also been modified to correspond to this change.

The response to question nine has not been modified. The intent of SB 714 as well as HSC 120370 (below) indicates that beginning January 1, 2020, a new medical exemption form is required for students beginning a new grade span.

HSC 120370 (a)(2)

(2) Commencing January 1, 2020 , a child who has a medical exemption issued before January 1, 2020, shall be allowed continued enrollment to any public or private elementary or secondary school, child care center, day nursery, nursery school, family day care home, or developmental center within the state until the child enrolls in the next grade span.

For purposes of this subdivision, “grade span” means each of the following:

(A) Birth to preschool, inclusive.

(B) Kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, including transitional kindergarten.

(C) Grades 7 to 12, inclusive .

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. CDPH will also communicate this update to all California school districts and local county health departments.

Sincerely,

Secretary Mark Ghaly and Dr. Erica Pan

What this means:
A permanent medical exemption dated prior to January 1, 2020 is valid until entry into the next grade span (TK/K through 6th grade and 7th through 12th grade). Permanent medical exemptions may be transferred between child-care facilities and schools in California, both within and across school districts. If your child is within gradespans, with a medical exemption dated prior to 2019, and rejected from school this year, please contact your school and let them know that the CDPH guidelines have been updated and your child's medical exemption is valid until the next gradespan and they should be enrolled.

Possible outstanding issues:

Whether or not students may enroll into a new gradespan for the 2020-21 school year (preschool, TK/K or 7 th grade) using a permanent medical exemption issued prior to 2020, in accordance with July 1, 2019 regulations. While the letter from CDPH indicates that no change in their guidelines, we would still argue that it does not state anywhere in the statute that the medical exemptionf for this year has to be dated 2020. If your child is in preschool , TK/K or 7 th grade for the first time this year and has been denied enrollment because their medical exemption is dated prior to 2020, please email us ([email protected]) and we can try to help you.

Whether or not medical exemptions written by a phycisian who has recieved disciplinary action from their licensing entity are valid until the next gradespan or will be revoked retroactively. The statute is unclear. While it does not specifically state that that such medical exemptions issued prior to 2020 would be revoked retroactively, it does not say they won't. If your child has a medical exemption written by a phycisian who has been disciplined and has been denied enrollment because of this, please email us ([email protected]) and we can try to help you.

Together we can make a difference!

If you found this information helpful and appreciate the work A Voice for Choice Advocacy is doing, please support us by making a donation today.

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Christina Hildebrand
President/Founder
A Voice for Choice Advocacy, Inc.
www.avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org
408 835 9353

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