States with Religious and Philosophical Exemptions from School Immunization Requirements

December 2012

All fifty states have legislation requiring specified vaccines for students. Although exemptions vary from state to state, all school immunization laws grant exemptions to children for medical reasons. Almost all states, except Mississippi and West Virginia, grant religious exemptions for people who have religious beliefs against immunizations. Nineteen states allow philosophical exemptions for those who object to immunizations because of a personal, moral or other beliefs.

State	Statute	Religious Exemption	Philosophical Exemption
Alabama	Ala. Code § 16-30-3	Yes	No
Alaska	Ak. Stat. §14.30.125	Yes	No
Arizona	Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 15-872, 873	Yes	Yes
Arkansas	Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-702	Yes	Yes
California	Cal. Health & Safety Code § 120325 et seq.	Yes	Yes
Colorado	Colo. Rev. Stat. § 25-4-902, 903	Yes	Yes
Connecticut	Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-204a	Yes	No
Delaware	Del. Code Ann. tit. 14 § 131	Yes	No
Washington, DC	D.C. Code Ann. § 38-501, 506	Yes	No
Florida	Fla. Stat. Ann. § 1003.22	Yes	No
Georgia	Ga. Code Ann. § 20-2-771	Yes	No
Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 302A-1154, 1156	Yes	No
Idaho	Idaho Code § 39-4801, 4802	Yes	Yes
Illinois	105 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 5/27-8.1	Yes	No
Indiana	Ind. Code Ann. § 21-40-5	Yes	No
Iowa	Iowa Code Ann. § 139A.8	Yes	No
Kansas	Kan. Stat. Ann. § 72-5209	Yes	No
Kentucky	Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 214.034	Yes	No
Louisiana	La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 17:170(A); 40:31.16	Yes	Yes
Maine	Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 20-A § 6355	Yes	Yes
Maryland	Md. Code Ann. Educ. § 7-403	Yes	No
Massachusetts	Mass. Gen Laws ch.76, § 15	Yes	No
Michigan	Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 333.9208, 9215	Yes	Yes
Minnesota	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 121A-15	Yes	Yes
Mississippi	Miss. Code Ann. § 41-23-37	No	No
Missouri	Mo. Rev. Stat. § 167.181, 210.003	Yes	Yes*
Montana	Mont. Code Ann. § 20-5-403, 405	Yes	No
Nebraska	Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 79-217, 221	Yes	No
Nevada	Nev. Rev. Stat. § 392.435, 437, 439	Yes	No
New Hampshire	N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 141-C:20-a, 20-c	Yes	No
New Jersey	N.J. Stat. Ann. § 26:1A-9, 9.1	Yes	No
New Mexico	N.M. Stat. Ann. § 24-5-1, 3	Yes	No
New York	N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 2164	Yes	No
North Carolina	N.C. Gen. Stat. § 130A-155, 156, 157	Yes	No
North Dakota	N.D. Cent. Code § 23-07-17.1	Yes	Yes
Ohio	Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3313.671	Yes	Yes
Oklahoma	Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 70, § 1210.191, 192	Yes	Yes
Oregon	Or. Rev. Stat. § 433.267	Yes	No
Pennsylvania	28 Pa. Code § 23-83, 84	Yes	Yes
Rhode Island	R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-38-2	Yes	No
South Carolina	S.C. Code Ann. § 44-29-180	Yes	No
South Dakota	S.D. Codified Laws § 13-28-7.1	Yes	No
Tennessee	Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-5001	Yes	No
Texas	Tex. Edu Code Ann. § 38.001	Yes	Yes
Utah	Utah Code Ann. § 53A-11-301, 302	Yes	Yes
Vermont	Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 18, § 1121, 1122	Yes	Yes
Virginia	Va. Code Ann. § 22.1-271.2, § 32.1-46	Yes	No
Washington	Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 28A.210.080, 90	Yes	Yes
West Virginia	W. Va. Code § 16-3-4	No	No
Wisconsin	Wis. Stat. Ann. § 252.04	Yes	Yes
Wyoming	Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 21-4-309	Yes	No

Religious exemption indicates that there is a provision in the statute that allows parents to exempt their children from vaccination if it contradicts their sincere religious beliefs.

Philosophical exemption indicates that the statutory language does not restrict the exemption to purely religious or spiritual beliefs. For example, Maine allows restrictions based on "moral, philosophical or other personal beliefs," and California allows objections based on simply the parent(s) beliefs.

* The Missouri philosophical exemption applies only to daycare, preschool and nursery school.

Sources: Chart adapted from "School Vaccination Requirements" Legal and Social Perspectives", James G. Hodge Jr., NCSL State Legislative Report, August 2002; LexisNexis 2008.

Note: List may not be comprehensive, but is representative of state laws that exist. NCSL appreciates additions and corrections.



Related Documents Health Public Health & Prevention - School Health Public Health & Prevention - Vaccines & Immunizations Women, Children & Adolescents - Adolescent Health Women, Children & Adolescents - Children's Health Women, Children & Adolescents - Maternal and Child Health
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States with Religious and Philosophical Exemptions from School Immunization Requirements

December 2012

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