Head Start on Vaccinations Act

To amend the Head Start Act to ensure that all children in Head Start and Early Head Start programs are vaccinated, and allow exemptions only for children with underlying medical conditions, for whom vaccines are therefore medically contraindicated. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Head Start on Vaccinations Act 2. Vaccination requirement (a) Head Start programs The first subsection of section 645 of the Head Start Act ( 42 U.S.C. 9840 (6) (A) In this paragraph: (i) The term complete vaccination information (ii) The term Federally qualified health center 42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)(4) (iii) The term pediatric vaccine list (iv) The term program-registered provider 42 U.S.C. 1396s(c) (B) In order for a child who is enrolled in a Head Start program (other than an Early Head Start program) assisted under this subchapter on the effective date of the Head Start on Vaccinations Act to remain eligible for participation in the program, a parent or guardian of the child shall submit complete vaccination information to the program, within 3 months after the effective date of the Head Start on Vaccinations Act. (C) (i) In order for a child to be enrolled in a program covered by subparagraph (B), a parent or guardian of the child— (I) shall submit complete vaccination information to the program, in a timely manner, as required under regulations issued under subparagraph (G); or (II) shall submit a signed agreement that the parent or guardian will provide that information as described in subclause (I), and consents to the administration described in subparagraph (D)(i) or the referral described in subparagraph (D)(ii). (ii) Except for the initial submission of information for a child described in subparagraph (B), in order for a child who is enrolled in a program covered by subparagraph (B) to remain eligible for participation in the program, a parent or guardian of the child shall submit complete vaccination information to the program, in a timely manner, as required under such regulations. The director of the Head Start agency involved shall annually require the parents or guardians of the children in the program to make such a submission to maintain that enrollment. (D) To assist a parent or guardian in complying with subparagraph (B) or (C), the director of a Head Start agency may use funds made available under this subchapter to— (i) at the request of the parent or guardian, have an employee of the agency, who is eligible to administer vaccines in the State in which the agency is located, administer any missing vaccines on the pediatric vaccine list to the child; or (ii) assist the parent or guardian in gaining access to the vaccines, such as by referring the parent or guardian to a Federally qualified health center, a State or county public health clinic, a program-registered provider, or a provider or contractor under title V of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 701 et seq. (E) (i) Subject to clause (ii), the director of a Head Start agency shall, in a timely manner, remove from the corresponding Head Start program any child who is not in compliance with subparagraph (B) or (C). (ii) The director may exempt a child from subparagraph (B) or (C) only if a parent or guardian of the child submits information from a health care provider, who (under the State's law concerning vaccinations) is qualified to determine whether the child has an underlying medical condition, that the child has an underlying medical condition and that administration of vaccines is, therefore, medically contraindicated for the child. (F) (i) Except as provided in clause (ii), in the case of a child in a Head Start program, this paragraph shall apply notwithstanding any portion of a State law requiring vaccines that is inconsistent with the pediatric vaccine list. (ii) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent a State from requiring vaccines in addition to the vaccines on the pediatric vaccine list. (G) (i) Not later than the effective date of the Head Start on Vaccinations Act, the Secretary shall issue regulations concerning implementation of this paragraph. The regulations shall include provisions specifying timeliness for submission of information under subparagraph (C), the information required to be submitted as complete vaccination information, and timeliness for removal of a child from a Head Start program under subparagraph (E). (ii) Before issuing the regulations, the Secretary shall— (I) consult with Indian tribes about the application of this paragraph to children from Indian tribes; (II) consult with the national migrant and seasonal Head Start collaboration director about the application of this paragraph to children from migrant and seasonal farmworker families; and (III) consider the application of this paragraph to homeless children and foster children. (iii) This paragraph takes effect on the date of enactment of the Head Start on Vaccinations Act. . (b) Early Head Start Programs Section 645A of the Head Start Act ( 42 U.S.C. 9840a (1) in subsection (c), by striking Persons Except as provided in subsection (j), persons (2) by adding at the end the following: (j) Vaccinations The provisions of section 645(a)(6) shall apply to Early Head Start agencies, Early Head Start programs, and children under age 3, in the same manner and the same extent as those provisions apply to Head Start agencies, Head Start programs, and children. . 3. Effective date Except as otherwise provided in the Head Start Act, this Act, including the amendments made by this Act, takes effect 3 months after the date of enactment of this Act.

Summary: Head Start on Vaccinations Act Amends the Head Start Act to prohibit the enrollment of a child in a Head Start or Early Head Start program unless the child's parent or guardian: (1) provides the program with information establishing that the child is vaccinated in accordance with the pediatric vaccine list; or (2) submits a signed agreement to provide such information and consents to the provision, by a program employee or other health care provider, of any vaccines on the pediatric vaccine list that the child has not yet received. Requires that information to be provided on an annual basis in order for a child to maintain enrollment in such program. Requires any child who is not in compliance with such requirements to be removed from such program, but provides for the exemption of children for whom the administration of such vaccines is medically contraindicated. Authorizes the director of a Head Start or Early Head Start agency to use program funds to: (1) administer the required vaccines to children, at the request of the parent or guardian; or (2) assist the parent or guardian in gaining access to the required vaccines.