Iowa Code § 139A.8 — IA Code / Title IV / Chapter 139A / Section 139A.8
Immunization of children.
Status: in_force

(1) A parent or legal guardian shall assure that the person’s minor children residing in the state are adequately immunized against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, rubeola, rubella, and varicella, according to recommendations provided by the department subject to the provisions of subsections 3 and 4.

(2) (a) A person shall not be enrolled in any licensed child care center or elementary or secondary school in Iowa without evidence of adequate immunizations against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, rubeola, rubella, and varicella.

(2) (b) Evidence of adequate immunization against haemophilus influenza B and invasive pneumococcal disease shall be required prior to enrollment in any licensed child care center.

(2) (c) Evidence of hepatitis type B immunization shall be required of a child born on or after July 1, 1994, prior to enrollment in school in kindergarten or in a grade.

(2) (d) Immunizations shall be provided according to recommendations provided by the department subject to the provisions of subsections 3 and 4.

(2) (e) A person shall not be enrolled in school in the seventh grade or twelfth grade in Iowa without evidence of adequate immunization against meningococcal disease in accordance with standards approved by the United States public health service of the United States department of health and human services for such biological products and in accordance with immunization practices recommended by the advisory committee on immunization practices of the centers for disease control and prevention.

(3) Subject to the provision of subsection 4, the department may modify or delete any of the immunizations in subsection 2.

(4) (a) Immunization is not required for a person’s enrollment in any elementary or secondary school or licensed child care center if either of the following applies:

(4) (a) The applicant, or if the applicant is a minor, the applicant’s parent or legal guardian, submits to the admitting official a statement signed by a physician, advanced registered nurse practitioner, or physician assistant who is licensed by the board of medicine, board of nursing, or board of physician assistants that the immunizations required would be injurious to the health and well-being of the applicant or any member of the applicant’s family.

(4) (a) The applicant, or if the applicant is a minor, the applicant’s parent or legal guardian, submits an affidavit signed by the applicant, or if the applicant is a minor, the applicant’s parent or legal guardian, stating that the immunization conflicts with the tenets and practices of a recognized religious denomination of which the applicant is an adherent or member.

(4) (b) The exemptions under this subsection do not apply in times of emergency or epidemic as determined and declared by the director.

(4) (c) Information regarding exemptions and the requirements for an exemption under this subsection shall be included in any public communication following the recommendation of an immunization by the department pursuant to subsection 2, shall be included in any communication regarding immunizations to a parent or legal guardian from a school, and shall be published on the internet sites of and included in registration documentation for all elementary schools, secondary schools, and licensed child care centers.

(5) A person may be provisionally enrolled in an elementary or secondary school or licensed child care center if the person has begun the required immunizations and if the person continues to receive the necessary immunizations as rapidly as is medically feasible. The department shall adopt rules relating to the provisional admission of persons to an elementary or secondary school or licensed child care center.

(6) The local board shall furnish the department, within sixty days after the first official day of school, evidence that each person enrolled in any elementary or secondary school has been immunized as required in this section subject to subsection 4. The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A relating to the reporting of evidence of immunization.

(7) Local boards shall provide the required immunizations to children in areas where no local provision of these services exists.

(8) The department, in consultation with the director of the department of education, shall adopt rules for the implementation of this section and shall provide those rules to local school boards and local boards.

2000 Acts, ch 1066, §8; 2003 Acts, ch 78, §1 – 3; 2007 Acts, ch 10, §24; 2007 Acts, ch 11, §1; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §263; 2016 Acts, ch 1139, §92; 2017 Acts, ch 29, §41; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §222, 223; 2024 Acts, ch 1170, §399, 400; 2025 Acts, ch 106, §1