Students excluded for lack of shots
3,500 Schenectady kids missed a month of school last year
SCHENECTADY — A recent Times Union analysis found that Schenectady has the highest rate of chronically absent students in the Capital Region.
But about 20 percent of them, according to the city school district, had an unusual reason in 2022-2023: They weren’t up to date on their vaccinations.
In Schenectady last school year, 3,510 students skipped at least a month of school without an excuse, meaning their families did not report that they were sick. Many of them were skipping school, but about 700 students were not allowed in because they didn’t have vaccinations required by New York, district spokeswoman Karen Corona said.
Schenectady saw a 67 percent increase in absenteeism from 2018 to 2023. The district’s rate is similar to the chronic absenteeism in the other large urban districts in New York, which includes Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester. Demographically, in terms of poverty and lack of resources, Schenectady is similar to those districts, which also includes Yonkers.
It’s not unusual for incoming kindergartners in impoverished districts to need vaccines. But in Schenectady, the majority of the students who weren’t allowed into school were in middle school, Corona said.
To enter sixth grade, students must have a Tdap booster, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. Of those, pertussis is the biggest concern. Better known as whooping cough, it spreads rapidly through the air.
To enter seventh grade, students must be vaccinated against meningitis. They must also get a meningitis booster at age 16.
The district cannot, by law, allow students to attend for more
than 14 days without their vaccinations, but must admit them once they have an appointment that is scheduled to occur within 14 days.
In 2021-2022, 800 students were excluded for missing vaccinations. Then 700 were excluded last year, followed by 200 students at the start of this school year, the district said.
“We have been progressively getting better,” Corona said. “Ellis (Hospital) holds a two-night clinic for us, which has historically been held in September. However, this past summer we moved it to August.”
This year, the district is reviewing every student’s health records and sending letters in hopes that fewer families will wait until September, she said.
By law, public health must set a time and place to vaccinate the children within two weeks of their exclusion. If the parents refuse to take action within two weeks, the district is required to notify Child Protective Services.
New York also offers free health care for children, but their parents must sign up for it. It can take more than a month for that coverage to be activated.
For those who already have health care but have not seen a pediatrician, it sounds simple: just make an appointment.
But for many Schenectady students, Corona said, getting a vaccine appointment can takes weeks. Last school year, the last of the students were admitted in November.
The average student missed less than a month of school because of their lack of vaccines, she said.
In some cases, the student could have returned earlier but did not provide proof of their upcoming appointment.
“We rely on the parent to tell us when they have an appointment scheduled. We try to communicate often but it’s sometimes difficult to connect with a parent and for us to know that the appointment has been scheduled,” Corona said.
Asylum seekers are allowed to attend school for 30 days without proof of vaccination — if they have scheduled a doctor’s appointment. Students who are homeless or in foster care also can stay in school for a short period while getting a vaccine appointment. It’s unclear how many of Schenectady’s absent kids last year might have fallen into these categories.
Joe Gambino, CEO of Hometown Health, Schenectady County’s federally qualified health center, said Hometown has tried to make itself accessible to students, with schoolbased health centers placed in Schenectady High and Mont Pleasant Middle schools. But he said he is not surprised hundreds of city children missed school days last year over lagging vaccinations. He sees what Hometown’s own no-show rates are for scheduled appointments.
He said five to 10 years ago, many older kids would be forced to get vaccinations to participate in sports. But Gambino said he feels kids have more distractions that are keeping them off fields and courts. Many school officials the Times Union spoke with on the issue of chronic absenteeism said gaming and smartphone use is drawing kids into a world where they stay up to all hours and leave their homes less.
Getting babies vaccinated is not as much of an issue because parents worry about the health of their new child, Gambino said. But as they get older, taking a child to the doctor when they are not sick is less of a priority — particularly in cities with higher poverty rates.
“We still make every effort to get middle or high schoolers in,” Gambino said, but “if they don’t come in, there’s not a lot we can do.”