Mandatory Immunization & Exemption Requirements for DPS 2021-2022 school year.

Posted March 4, 2021

Please read the message below about Mandatory Immunization & Exemption Requirements for  Denver Public Schools & Hamilton Middle Students for the 2021-2022 school year.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Cortney Peters, School Nurse at 720-423-9509 or School Health Tech, Amel Benaissa at 720-423-9506.

Dear parents/guardians of students in Colorado kindergarten – 12th grade schools for the 2021-22 school year:

We know you’re thinking of all the things you need to do to make sure your student is ready for school. Getting vaccinated is an important part of their school readiness and keeps children from catching and spreading diseases that can make them sick. We wish you and your student a healthy school year!

Required and recommended vaccines

• Colorado law requires students who attend a public, private, or parochial kindergarten – 12th-grade school to be vaccinated against many of the diseases vaccines can prevent unless a certificate of exemption is filed. For more information, visit cdphe.colorado.gov/schoolrequiredvaccines. Your student must be vaccinated against:
  • Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP, DTP, Tdap)
  • Hepatitis B (HepB)
  • Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR)
  • Polio (IPV)
  • Varicella (chickenpox)
• Colorado follows recommendations set by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Students entering kindergarten must receive their final doses of DTaP, IPV, MMR, and varicella. Students entering 6th grade must receive one dose of Tdap vaccine, even if they are under 11 years of age. You can view recommended vaccine schedules at cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/parents-adults/resources-parents.html.
• Vaccines are recommended for hepatitis A, influenza, meningococcal disease and human papillomavirus, but are not required.

Exclusion from school

• Your student may be excluded from school if your school does not have an up-to-date vaccine record, certificate of exemption, or in-process plan for your student on file.
• If someone gets sick with a vaccine-preventable disease or there is an outbreak at your student’s school and your student has not received the vaccine for that disease, they may be excluded from school activities. That could mean lost learning time for them and lost work and wages for you. For example, if your student has not received a MMR vaccine, they may be excluded from school for 21 days after someone gets sick with measles.

Have questions?

• You may want to talk to a healthcare provider licensed to give vaccines or your local public health agency about which vaccines your student needs or if you have questions. You can read about the safety and importance of vaccines at SpreadTheVaxFacts.com , ImmunizeForGood.com, and cdphe.colorado.gov/immunization-education.

Paying for vaccinations

• If you need help finding free or low-cost vaccines and providers who give them, go to COVax4Kids.org, contact your local public health agency, or call the state health department’s Family Health Line at 1-303-692-2229 or 1-800-688-7777. You can find your local public health agency at cdphe.colorado.gov/find-your-local-public-health-agency.

Vaccination records

• Please take your student’s updated vaccine record to school every time they receive a vaccine.
• Need to find your student’s vaccine record? It may be available from the Colorado Immunization Information System. Visit COVaxRecords.org for more information.

Exemptions

• If your student cannot get vaccines because of medical reasons, you must submit a Certificate of Medical Exemption to your school, signed by a health care provider licensed to give vaccines. You only need to submit this certificate once, unless your student’s information or school changes. You can get the form at cdphe.colorado.gov/vaccine-exemptions.
• If you choose not to have your student vaccinated according to the current recommended schedule because of personal belief or religious reasons, you must submit a Certificate of Nonmedical Exemption to your school.
• Nonmedical exemptions must be submitted annually at every new school year (July 1 through June 30th of the following year). There are two ways to file a nonmedical exemption.
  • File the Certificate of Nonmedical Exemption WITH a signature from an immunizing provider, OR
  • File the Certificate of Nonmedical Exemption received upon the completion of our online education module.

Downloadable certificates and our online education module are available at cdphe.colorado.gov/vaccine-exemptions.

How’s your school doing on vaccinations?

• Some parents, especially those with students who have weakened immune systems, may want to know which schools have the highest percent of vaccinated students. Schools must report immunization and exemption numbers (but not student names or birth dates) to the state health department annually. Schools do not control their specific immunization and exemption rates or establish the Vaccinated Children Standard described in C.R.S. 25-4-911. Schools must include their MMR immunization and exemption rates from the most recently completed school year in this letter. Schools may choose to also include immunization and exemption rates for other school-required vaccines. Additional immunization and exemption rates can be found at COVaxRates.org.