Kindergarten registration begins

Immunizations required in RRPS

Rio Rancho Public Schools has started registering kindergarten students for the 2015-16 school year and is reminding parents that state law and district policy require that immunizations be up-to-date in order for a child to attend class.

Tonna Burgos, the district’s executive director for student services, said state law allows families 30 days after enrollment to provide proof of immunizations, evidence the student will soon be immunized, such as a pending doctor’s appointment, or a state-approved exemption waiver. The New Mexico Department of Health waiver allows families to opt out of vaccinations for medical or religious reasons but not “personal or philosophical reasons,” according to instructions on the form.

An outbreak of measles that originated at Disneyland and spread to various parts of the country raised concerns about an outbreak occurring in New Mexico. Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease that can be prevented with a vaccine. It is caused by a virus that can stay airborne for hours and spreads through coughing and sneezing.

Burgos said the district has always followed state law and has not made any changes to its immunization policies recently.

“This has never been a huge dilemma in our district,” Burgos said. “But parents of students who don’t have proper immunizations would get a letter stating their student will be disenrolled if they do not bring them up-to-date.”

In January, Department of Health Secretary of Health Retta Ward posted a message on the department website saying she was concerned about the growing number of vaccine exemptions, which increased statewide from 2,845 in 2012 to 3,335. An anti-vaccination movement across the country has led many parents to opt out of having their children immunized because they believe the vaccinations could be harmful.

“We know the majority of the people who get measles are unvaccinated,” Ward wrote. “Since measles is still common in many parts of the world and travelers with measles continue to bring the disease into the U.S., we want all New Mexicans to know that it can spread when it reaches communities where groups of people are unvaccinated.”

According to the health department’s website, 126 of the Rio Rancho’s 17,200 students have immunization exemptions, which is less than one percent. Burgos said the district has not seen an increase in parents opting out of vaccination requirements.

Ward also sent a letter to school superintendents at the end of February reminding districts to make sure their students were properly vaccinated. Burgos said the letter prompted her office to go back and recheck all of the student records.

Kim Vesely, spokeswoman for Rio Rancho Public Schools, said the district has always strictly enforced immunization requirements.

“I believe we have always been on top of it,” she said.

Shortly after the letter, the Albuquerque and Santa Fe school districts began to strictly enforce immunization requirements. Each district reviewed its records and sent letters to parents telling them they had to update vaccinations in order for their children to continue attending school.

Other requirements for registration include the child’s birth certificate, or another document showing proof of age and identity, and proof of residency that could include lease or rental agreements, utility bills, driver’s license or deed.