Education News in Brief

States Mull Tightening Exemptions for Routine Childhood Vaccines

By The Associated Press — March 20, 2019 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Maine lawmakers would end nonmedical exemptions for routine childhood vaccines required by schools and certain health-care facilities, under a Democratic bill.

A Republican bill, however, would leave medical exemptions at the “sole discretion” of a health-care provider. That measure would also prevent medical exemptions from being reviewed and school boards and municipalities from having stricter immunization requirements than state law.

Federal data show Maine had among the nation’s highest rate of nonmedical exemptions in 2017-18.

Multiple studies have debunked claims that measles, mumps, and rubella vaccinations increase the risk for autism.

Oregon and Washington state are also considering bills to end nonmedical exemptions for routine childhood vaccines.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the March 20, 2019 edition of Education Week as States Mull Tightening Exemptions for Routine Childhood Vaccines

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read