By Katie Harris
The Surveyor
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed the controversial School Entry Immunization Bill, SB20-163, into law on Friday, creating more stringent vaccination requirements for children attending school.
The law, which aims to increase Colorados immunization rate, currently the lowest in the nation, was met with criticism from groups such as Colorado Health Choice Alliance, Colorado Freedom Force and Christian Home Educators of Colorado, as well as protests at the state capitol in recent months as it passed through the senate and house. As a result, homeschooled children received an exemption from the law just days before it was signed.
Nevertheless, a majority of lawmakers determined that the law was necessary for the vast majority of children, citing a proven track record of immunizations of saving lives and money, higher rates of vaccine-preventable diseases in states with lenient exemption policies, and a current potential for large numbers of students to be excluded from school due to non-vaccination in the case of a disease outbreak.
The goal of SB20-163 is to achieve 95 percent immunization coverage in schools in order to protect the health of students, staff, and others in the community, including people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons or because they are too young to have received all recommended vaccines (Section 1(m)).
Lawmakers plan to achieve this through key changes to current immunization exemption requirements. Under the previous law, parents who wished to opt their children out of immunizations upon entering school could do so with either a certificate of medical exemption or by providing a statement of nonmedical exemption for religious or personal reasons.
Under the new law, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) will be required to develop standardized forms and a submission process for parents who wish to opt their children out of or delay any immunizations required by law, as defined by CDPHE.
In accordance with the new law, in order to opt children out of an immunization, parents must provide:
While SB20-163 still allows families to opt-out of immunizations, opponents voiced concern that it would be difficult to find a physician willing to sign a nonmedical exemption form, as the new law leaves it up to physicians to decide whether or not to sign the form.
Opponents of the bill stated that the increased difficulty in obtaining immunization exemptions infringed upon families freedom to make their own medical decisions.
Stricter exemption requirements arent the only aspect of the new law that critics find concerning. With the passing of SB20-163, it will now be mandatory for physicians to submit immunization, medical and nonmedical exemption data to an immunization tracking system, including name, date of birth, sex, school name, parents names, immunization records, and any exemptions claimed.
Information collected will be used by CDPHE to evaluate and revise the states immunization practices and guidelines on an annual basis. In addition, schools will be required to publish their measles, mumps and rubella immunization rates and any additional immunization rates they choose to include on an annual basis and distribute to families of enrolled students.
The law does, however, include a requirement that the forms provided by CDPHE include a notice to parents that they have the option to exclude students exemptions from the tracking system.
While groups who opposed the bill argue that the government is stripping Coloradans of their freedom by putting children in a government database, giving more control of childrens health to a state department, and removing the distinction between religious and philosophical immunization exemptions, proponents of the law say it is necessary to prevent the spread of disease and to save tens of thousands in publicly funded disease investigation and prevention.
By creating a vaccinated-children standard and reporting and recording school immunization information, lawmakers say the bill will prevent dangerous, costly and sometimes deadly diseases (Section 1(g)).
Colorado lawmakers have appropriated $41,906 to CDPHE to implement the new law for the 2020-21 state fiscal year. The standardized immunization document, detailing vaccination and age requirements under SB20-163 will be made available by CDPHE no later than January 31, 2021.
See the article here:
Controversial school immunization bill signed into law - BerthoudSurveyor.com
- Freedom Caucus: The Fight Club of Congress - The Christian Science Monitor - September 29th, 2023 [September 29th, 2023]
- History shows a better strategy than shutdown for reducing the deficit - MinnPost - September 29th, 2023 [September 29th, 2023]
- Haake: For the freedom caucus, chaos is the point - Chicago Tribune - September 29th, 2023 [September 29th, 2023]
- Appeals court sets hearing date on Missouri abortion rights initiative ... - Missouri Independent - September 29th, 2023 [September 29th, 2023]
- Things to Know About the Billionaire Card - a Diamond-Encrusted ... - CEOWORLD magazine - September 29th, 2023 [September 29th, 2023]
- Report on Countries that are Candidates for Millennium Challenge ... - Millennium Challenge Corporation - August 28th, 2023 [August 28th, 2023]
- The Freedom Caucus' shutdown threat recalls tactics of past House ... - NPR - August 28th, 2023 [August 28th, 2023]
- Opinion | Joe Biden op-ed: 60 years after March on Washington, we ... - The Washington Post - August 28th, 2023 [August 28th, 2023]
- Universal Basic Income: Fiscal fantasy or AI necessity? - talkbusiness.net - August 28th, 2023 [August 28th, 2023]
- Hurtling toward a fiscal cliff - POLITICO - POLITICO - August 28th, 2023 [August 28th, 2023]
- Governor Glenn Youngkin - Virginia Governor Ralph Northam - Proclamation - August 28th, 2023 [August 28th, 2023]
- New Zealand - The Heritage Foundation - January 4th, 2023 [January 4th, 2023]
- Singapore Economy: Population, GDP, Inflation, Business, Trade, FDI ... - January 4th, 2023 [January 4th, 2023]
- Mexico Economy: Facts, Population, GDP, Corruption, Business, Trade ... - December 12th, 2022 [December 12th, 2022]
- Economic liberalism - Wikipedia - November 7th, 2022 [November 7th, 2022]
- Don't ask, don't tell - Wikipedia - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- In first debate, Healey and Diehl clash over the economy, abortion and Trump - WBUR News - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Election 2022: What to know about California propositions - Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Vice President Kamala Harris calls on Texans to protect reproductive and voting rights during Austin visit - 25 News KXXV and KRHD - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- How Republicans in the Rio Grande Valley are using faith to draw in Latino voters - CBS News - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Letter to the editor: Pierce will work for values that matter to Senate District 25 - Press Herald - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Letter to the editor: Left needs heads examined - Washington Times - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Book Banning, Curriculum Restrictions, and the Politicization of U.S. Schools - Center For American Progress - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Judge considers halting enforcement of Indiana's near-total abortion ban - The Times of Northwest Indiana - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Texas Youth Summit draws conservative to plot the culture war - The Texas Tribune - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- The Weight of Trump - The Atlantic - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Tanzania and Zambia want to upgrade the 'Uhuru Railway' but can they? - The Conversation Indonesia - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Power games: Plans to shift to a centralised market in power sector must take into account concerns of all stakeholders - The Indian Express - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Inside the Academic-Freedom Crisis That Roiled Florida's Flagship - The Chronicle of Higher Education - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Liz Trusss energy price cap handout will put her talent for U-turns to the test - The Guardian - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- FM stresses joint Arab action to overcome regional crises - Jordan Times - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- The contract of Nigerian citizenship and diaspora voting - Guardian Nigeria - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Study ranks Midland as top economic freedom area in Michigan - The Center Square - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Another Shocking Decline in Life Expectancy | The Fiscal Times - The Fiscal Times - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Liz Truss Has Been Elected As The New Prime Minister Of The United Kingdom. Replace Boris Johnson - Nation World News - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Why the Left Is Learning to Love the Military - The Atlantic - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Millions of dollars spent secretly at B.C. Legislature - theBreaker - theBreaker - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Economy forecast to grow by 7-7.5% in current fiscal Times of India - English Bharat Times - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- The Union Government Is Arbitrarily Squeezing States Fiscal Freedom To Borrow - The Wire - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- House Freedom Caucus calls on McCarthy, McConnell to reject 'lame duck' spending this fall - Fox News - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- JAGs 7th and most ambitious season yet is titled 'The Freedom Practice' - Vermont Biz - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- Why is the Michigan Medicine nurses' union abridging freedom of speech? - WSWS - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- Board of Elections certifies recall effort to oust East Cleveland's mayor - News 5 Cleveland WEWS - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- Bangabandhu's thoughts on economic freedom are still relevant - The Financial Express - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- Overview: A Year of Taliban Rule in Afghanistan - Voice of America - VOA News - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- Rochester enters the era of the $250,000 police officer - Rochester City Newspaper - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- India aims to be developed nation in 25 years: Modi - Gulf Times - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- EDITORIAL: Welcome to new thinker on the block - Coeur d'Alene Press - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- Letters to the editor for Sunday, August 14, 2022 - News-Press - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- The Serious Lack of Good Governance and Economic Freedom: Root Causes of Sri Lanka's Ongoing Turmoil - Heritage.org - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- The FOIA backlog continued to grow last year - Federal News Network - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- More money rolling into state's casinos, less tax being collected The Daily Gazette - The Daily Gazette - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- EDITORIAL: Fentanyl, death by the dose - Washington Times - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- Liz Truss's tax cuts are not inflationary - The Telegraph - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- The UN wants to educate children it will succeed only if it feeds them first - The Guardian - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- Sunburn The morning read of what's hot in Florida politics 7.27.22 - Florida Politics - July 27th, 2022 [July 27th, 2022]
- A first look at the medium-term fiscal program - BusinessWorld Online - July 19th, 2022 [July 19th, 2022]
- Financial Giants Reject West Virginia's Claims That They're Boycotting Fossil Fuels - The Epoch Times - July 19th, 2022 [July 19th, 2022]
- Five Waldo County towns ready to vote on broadband - Republican Journal - July 19th, 2022 [July 19th, 2022]
- Indian Navy expected to spend 70 pc of capital budget in domestic procurement this fiscal: Rajnath Singh - ThePrint - July 19th, 2022 [July 19th, 2022]
- NGO letter opposing T.42 amendments in appropriations - Government Accountability Project - July 19th, 2022 [July 19th, 2022]
- Digital services provided by foreign firms to be taxed from tomorrow - The Kathmandu Post - July 19th, 2022 [July 19th, 2022]
- Ayushman health ID card: A need for fine tuning! - Times of India - July 19th, 2022 [July 19th, 2022]
- Windfall tax on crude goes against incentive of more pricing freedom - The Financial Express - July 9th, 2022 [July 9th, 2022]
- Diversity, equity and inclusion update: June 2022 issue | CU Boulder Today - CU Boulder Today - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- Menendez, Schiff alarmed that Biden again approves US military aid to Azerbaijan - Armenian Weekly - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- Egypt is cozying up to Russia. It's time for the US to step in. - Atlantic Council - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- PM to say to G7 leaders: We must keep up our resolve on Ukraine - GOV.UK - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- Where have all the Christians gone? | News, Sports, Jobs - Williamsport Sun-Gazette - Williamsport Sun-Gazette - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- President Biden waives Section 907 restrictions on US aid to Azerbaijan - Armenian Weekly - June 24th, 2022 [June 24th, 2022]
- Senate retirement bill benefits wealthy Americans - The Hill - June 24th, 2022 [June 24th, 2022]
- Ambassador Kierscht Interview with The Key - US Embassy in Mauritania - USEmbassy.gov - June 24th, 2022 [June 24th, 2022]
- Roe v. Wade overturned: How will it affect abortion access in Indiana - The Herald-Times - June 24th, 2022 [June 24th, 2022]
- Constricted devolution of fiscal power - The Kathmandu Post - June 22nd, 2022 [June 22nd, 2022]
- Public office and accountability issues in Nigeria - Daily Trust - June 22nd, 2022 [June 22nd, 2022]
- Shaheen, Portman Participate in Discussion Hosted by Dartmouth on Russia's Unprovoked Invasion of Ukraine | US Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire... - June 22nd, 2022 [June 22nd, 2022]
- Congress Ignores Pressing National Business While It Obsesses on Jan. 6 - The Epoch Times - June 11th, 2022 [June 11th, 2022]
- Ukraine Economy: Population, GDP, Inflation, Business, Trade, FDI ... - June 11th, 2022 [June 11th, 2022]
- How would India fare on a modified misery index? Better than US & UK, worse than most others - ThePrint - June 11th, 2022 [June 11th, 2022]
- "Don't Want RBI To Become Extension Of Government": Ex CEA Arvind Subramanian - NDTV Profit - June 11th, 2022 [June 11th, 2022]