DEL.ICIO.USSPOTLIGHT: WATCHING OUT FOR YOUR SAFETY AND POCKETBOOK
Noncompliant kids allowed in school
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Why students aren’t in compliance
Here are some reasons kindergartners and sixth-graders weren’t in compliance when their schools were audited in the 2007-08 school year:
Greg Bryan/AP
Schools often ignore vaccination laws.
- Main Story: Vaccination law not enforced for many kids
Editor's note: Today the AJC launches Spotlight, which each Sunday will reveal important information affecting your health, safety or pocketbook. Look for it in the Metro section or on the front page.
The Georgia Division of Public Health says it can't take action against principals who ignore the law: The departmental rule enabling state enforcement of the vaccination law was repealed in 1979. But local health departments can enforce the law, state officials said.
HELP WITH SCHOOL SHOTS
Georgia law requires that all children be properly vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella, polio, whooping cough, chickenpox, diphtheria, tetanus and hepatitis B. The state requires audits for compliance when students enter kindergarten and again in sixth grade, when they typically enter middle school.
Children can receive exemptions for medical or religious reasons. And schools can issue waivers of about 30 days to give parents time get shots or documents.
For a medical exemption, a doctor must certify that a child shouldn't be immunized for a specific reason, such as cancer treatment or an immune disorder. A religious exemption requires a notarized statement that shots violate a family's beliefs.
- Where to call or visit online
For more information about Georgia's school immunization rules or for help getting vaccines:
- Cobb and Douglas Public Health : 770-514-2300; www.cobbanddouglaspublichealth.org.
- DeKalb County Board of Health: 404-294-3700; www.dekalbhealth.net.
- East Metro Health District, which serves Gwinnett, Rockdale and Newton counties: 770-339-4260.
- Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness: 404-730-1211; www.fultoncountyga.gov/county/health.
Related health articles:
- Topics: Atlanta hospitals | Weight loss | CDC | Cancer | Swine Flu
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Recent headlines:
• Metro and state news
| Kindergartners Health District | Total enrollment | No vaccination proof* | Missing required doses |
| Cobb-Douglas | 10,843 | 36 | 395 |
| Fulton | 12,302 | 264 | 1,328 |
| East Metro** | 16,101 | 85 | 552 |
| DeKalb | 8,433 | 63 | 421 |
| Sixth-graders Health-District | Total-enrollment | No vaccination proof* | Missing required doses |
| Cobb-Douglas | 10,425 | 65 | 1,487 |
| Fulton | 11,823 | 353 | 2,650 |
| East Metro** | 15,355 | 54 | 2,859 |
| DeKalb | 6,943 | 133 | 306 |
* No immunization certificate, waiver or exemption on file.
** The East Metro Health District covers Gwinnett, Rockdale and Newton counties.
Source: Georgia Division of Public Health
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School vaccination compliance
Georgia’s standard is that at least 90 percent of students in each school’s kindergarten and sixth grade be in compliance with immunization regulations when they are audited each fall.
Data for the current school year is not yet available. Here are schools* where fewer than 70 percent of students were in compliance on their 2007-2008 school year audits:
KINDERGARDTEN
| Atlanta Public Schools | % in
Compliance** | No. in grade |
| Venetian Hills | 29% | 62 |
| Fickett | 42% | 74 |
| Perkerson | 42% | 59 |
| West Manor | 46% | 41 |
| Benteen | 48% | 69 |
| Scott | 49% | 92 |
| Herndon | 50% | 36 |
| Dunbar | 58% | 26 |
| Woodson | 58% | 57 |
| Burgess-Peterson | 60% | 45 |
| Parkside | 60% | 77 |
| Williams | 60% | 60 |
| White | 66% | 47 |
| J.W. Dobbs | 68% | 80 |
| D.H. Stanton | 68% | 63 |
| Gideons | 69% | 86 |
DeKalb County School System
| Stoneview | 51% | 124 |
| Browns Mill | 66% | 134 |
| Briarlake | 68% | 77 |
Fulton County Schools
| College Park | 29% | 57 |
| Bethune | 34% | 96 |
| Randolph | 37% | 72 |
| Gullatt | 41% | 78 |
| Conley Hills | 44% | 94 |
| Liberty Point | 48% | 108 |
| Oakley | 51% | 96 |
| S.L. Lewis | 51% | 96 |
| Hapeville | 55% | 146 |
| Harriet Tubman | 55% | 80 |
| Heards Ferry | 56% | 132 |
| Renaissance | 59% | 132 |
| Esther Jackson | 65% | 149 |
| Barnwell | 68% | 131 |
Gwinnett County Public Schools
| Beaver Ridge | 48% | 165 |
| McKendree | 63% | 183 |
| Dyer | 67% | 103 |
Gwinnett - Private
| Harbour Oaks Montessori | 67% | 15 |
| Old Suwanee Christian | 69% | 16 |
SIXTH GRADE
| Atlanta Public Schools | % in
Compliance** | No. in grade |
| Young | 31% | 258 |
| Sylvan Hills | 36% | 151 |
| BEST Academy | 36% | 132 |
| Bunche | 40% | 281 |
| Walden | 48% | 73 |
| Coretta Scott King Academy | 49% | 172 |
| Turner | 54% | 97 |
| Imagine Wesley | 54% | 24 |
| Inman | 60% | 215 |
| Parks | 60% | 145 |
Cobb County School District
| Smitha Middle School | 36% | 304 |
| Cooper | 56% | 295 |
| Campbell | 65% | 372 |
Cobb - Private
| East Cobb Christian | 50% | 10 |
Douglas - Private
| King’s Way Christian | 50% | 25 |
Fulton County Schools
| Paul D. West | 21% | 327 |
| Sandtown | 23% | 302 |
| McNair | 26% | 272 |
| Camp Creek | 30% | 253 |
| Ridgeview Charter | 40% | 213 |
| Sandy Springs | 49% | 260 |
| Bear Creek | 56% | 338 |
| Hopewell | 60% | 371 |
| Fulton Science Academy | 66% | 166 |
| Woodland | 67% | 353 |
| Webb Bridge | 68% | 442 |
| Holcomb Bridge | 69% | 239 |
Fulton - Private
| Bedford School | 20% | 20 |
| Landmark Christian | 56% | 66 |
| St. Jude the Apostle Catholic | 69% | 83 |
Gwinnett County Public Schools
| Hooper Renwick | 20% | 10 |
| Pinckneyville | 49% | 464 |
| Summerour | 56% | 369 |
| Berkmar | 59% | 366 |
| GIVE Center East | 60% | 10 |
| Shiloh Middle | 61% | 537 |
| Crews Middle | 62% | 465 |
| Lanier Middle | 63% | 922 |
| Richards | 66% | 815 |
| Snellville | 67% | 752 |
Gwinnett - Private
| Old Suwanee Christian | 45% | 20 |
* Schools with at least 10 students in the grade audited where a compliance rate was reported.
** In compliance includes fully vaccinated children, children who have obtained legal exemptions from shots based on medical or religious reasons, as well as children who lack vaccinations or required forms but are within a legally allowed waiver period.
Sources: Health department immunization assessment forms and information for schools in Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton and Gwinnett counties.
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