Immunization request at Coventry school draws heat
COVENTRY — Last month, Coventry Schools Superintendent Craig Levis authorized a letter to be sent home to approximately 38 families of students at Alan Shawn Feinstein Middle School (ASFMS) who were not in compliance with the state’s requirements for up-todate immunization records and physicals. The document, sent by certified mail, requested that the families bring their children into compliance with the requirements by Friday, March 31 or the students would be excluded from school, beginning on Monday, April 3.
It also, however, encouraged families to reach out to district officials to set up a sort of plan, such as filling out a religious waiver if appropriate or making an appointment with their pediatrician for a physical. Levis made clear in the letter that his goal was not to cause students to lose class time, but rather to comply with state law.
At a school committee meeting in March, the superintendent indicated that the mandate had nothing to do with the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine and related controversy. He said that there had been multiple attempts by school nurse Kathy Larson to reach out to the families with little response. He also noted that 38 students without proper health records on file was significant and needed to be addressed.
The move, however, still drew attention from a group known as “Rhode Islanders Against Mandated HPV Vaccinations,” who sent out a press release on April 10 titled, “Broken Promises; Coventry School District Throws Out Students For Not Complying With The HPV Vaccine Mandate.” It states that three female students were sent home on April 10 because of their non-compliance with the HPV vaccine mandate.
“Today, Coventry Middle School sent home teen students that were not in compliance with the mandate of the HPV vaccine,” it reads. “The RI Dept of Health had stated on record that no students will loose class time over the HPV vaccine mandate.”
It goes on to cite a “Ms. Testa,” apparently the mother of one of the students who was allegedly taken out of class during first period and held in the office until they were picked up.
“I was very angry to hear about the situation today,” Testa said in the press release. “My daughter had recently graduated from a weekly truancy program in regards to her attendance, and I couldn’t believe they would do some- thing for her to loose more school time.”
It goes on to quote Aimee Gardiner, who is described as the Director of Rhode Islanders Against Mandated HPV Vaccinations.
“When I first got the call of this situation, my first thought was how ironic that the first school to have a school committee to remit a resolution in support of removing the HPV vaccine from the required list of vaccines for school, was the same district to send students home due to non-compliance,” said Gardiner.
When reached for comment on Thursday afternoon, Levis said that the claim that students were sent home for not having the HPV vaccination is not true, and no students were excluded from school because of whether they had it. In fact, he said, once the letter went out, almost all families immediately made arrangements or brought their children into compliance with the district’s request.
“We had three students and families that hadn’t complied with our requests,” Levis said. “They either had incomplete immunization records that are required for communicable diseases by law, or an incomplete school physical, or both.”
As of the amended Monday, April 10 deadline, 35 of the families were in compliance, and by the next day there was only one student left.
“As of today everybody has complied,” Levis said. “So the letter was effective.”
He reiterated, as he had stated during a school committee meeting last month, that the HPV vaccine had nothing to do with what the district was asking for from the families.
“It just happens to be in the news right now because of some legislation, so it was probably poor timing,” he said. “No one was or would be excluded for just not having the HPV vaccination.”
There are currently bills pending in both the House and Senate that call for a removal of the HPV vaccine mandate, including one by local Senator Lou Raptakis (D-District 33 Coventry, West Greenwich, East Greenwich) and another from Representative Sherry Roberts (R-District 29 Coventry, West Greenwich).
“As of today everybody has complied. So the letter was effective.” —Coventry Superintendent of Schools Craig Levis