Illinois Administrative Code › Title 77 - PUBLIC HEALTH › Part 665 - CHILD AND STUDENT HEALTH EXAMINATION AND IMMUNIZATION CODE › Subpart E - EXCEPTIONS › Section 665.510 - Religious Objection

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a)
Children
entering any public, private or parochial school or a
				preschool program operated by an elementary or secondary school or institution
				of higher learning whose
parents or legal guardians object to health,
				dental or eye examinations or any part thereof, to
				immunizations,
or to vision and hearing screening tests on
				religious grounds shall not be required to undergo the examinations, tests or
				immunizations to which they so object if such parents or legal guardians
				present to the appropriate local school authority a signed Certificate of
				Religious Exemption detailing the grounds for the objection and the specific
				immunizations, tests or examinations to which they object
in
				accordance with subsections (f) and (g)
.
b)
The grounds for the
religious
objection must set forth the specific religious belief that
				conflicts with the examination, test, immunization or other medical
				intervention. The religious objection stated need not be directed by the tenets
				of an established religious organization. However, general philosophical or
				moral reluctance to allow physical examinations, eye examinations,
				immunizations, vision and hearing screenings, or dental examinations does not
				provide a sufficient basis for an exception.
c)
The signed
Certificate of
				Religious Exemption
shall also reflect the parent's or legal guardian's
				understanding of the school's exclusion policies in the case of a
				vaccine-preventable disease outbreak or exposure.
d)
The
Certificate of
				Religious Exemption
must also be signed by the authorized examining
				health care provider responsible for the performance of the child's health
				examination confirming that the provider provided education to the parent or
				legal guardian on the benefits of the immunization and the health risks to the
				student and to the community of the communicable diseases for which
				immunization is required in this State. However, the
health
				care provider's signature on the certificate reflects only that education was
				provided and does not allow the health care provider grounds to determine a
				religious exemption.
e)
The local school authority is responsible for determining if the
				content of the Certificate of Religious Exemption constitutes a valid religious
				objection. The local school authority shall inform the parent or legal guardian
				of exclusion procedures in accordance with
the Control of Communicable
				Diseases Code
at the time the objection is presented.
The
				Certificate of Religious Exemption form shall be placed on file in the
				student's permanent record.
f)
Parents or legal guardians must submit the Certificate of Religious
				Exemption to their local school authority prior to entering kindergarten,
				sixth, and ninth grade
for each child for which they are
				requesting an exemption.
(Section 27-8.1(8) of the School
				Code)
g) Use of the Certificate of
				Religious Exemption applies to students transferring into school districts at
				any grade or students entering preschool programs operated by elementary or
				secondary schools. If the permanent record transferred with the student
				includes a valid Certificate of Religious Exemption, the new school district or
				preschool program shall accept the Certificate presented as if the Certificate
				had been initially presented to the new school.
h) The Certificate of Religious Exemption and
				subsections (a), (b), (c) and (d) are also applicable to children entering
				child care facilities not operated by an elementary or secondary school or
				institution of higher learning whose parents or legal guardians object to
				health, dental or eye examinations, immunizations or vision or hearing
				screening tests on religious grounds. The child care facility shall inform the
				parents or legal guardians of outbreak control exclusion procedures, in
				accordance with the Control of Communicable Diseases Code, at the time the
				religious exemption is presented. The child care facility shall attach the form
				to the child's health record and place the record in the child's permanent
				record.