By: Harrison H.B. No. 807
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to immunization requirements.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 38.001, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 38.001.  IMMUNIZATION; REQUIREMENTS; EXCEPTIONS. (a)
  Each student shall be fully immunized against diphtheria, rubeola,
  rubella, mumps, tetanus, and poliomyelitis, except as provided by
  Subsection (c).
         (b)  Subject to Subsections (b-1) and (c), the executive
  commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission may modify
  or delete any of the immunizations in Subsection (a) or may require
  immunizations against additional diseases as a requirement for
  admission to any elementary or secondary school.
         (b)  Subject to Subsection (c), the Department of State
  Health Services may modify or delete any of the immunizations in
  Subsection (a) or may require immunizations against additional
  diseases as a requirement for admission to any elementary or
  secondary school.The list in Subsection (a) may only be modified
  by statute.
         (b-1)  Each year, the Department of State Health Services
  shall prepare a list of the immunizations required under this
  sectionSubsection (a) for admission to public schools and of any
  additional immunizations the department recommends for school-age
  children. The department shall prepare the list in English and
  Spanish and make the list available in a manner that permits a
  school district to easily post the list on the district's Internet
  website as required by Section 38.019.
         (b-2)  No government entity can compel or require an
  individual to receive a vaccine, not listed in Subsection (a),
  including but not limited to those listed on the Federal Centers for
  Disease Control and Preventions Immunization Schedules.
         (c)  Immunization is not required for a person's admission to
  any elementary or secondary school if the person applying for
  admission:
               (1)  submits to the admitting official:
                     (A)  an affidavit or a certificate signed by a
  physician who is duly registered and licensed to practice medicine
  in the United States, in which it is stated that, in the physician's
  opinion, the immunization required poses a significant risk to the
  health and well-being of the applicant or any member of the
  applicant's family or household; or
                     (B)  an affidavit signed by the applicant or, if a
  minor, by the applicant's parent or guardian stating that the
  applicant declines immunization for reasons of conscience,
  including a religious belief; or
               (2)  is a member of the armed forces of the United
  States and is on active duty.
         (c-1)  An affidavit submitted under Section (c)(1)(B) must
  be on a form described by Section 161.0041, Health and Safety Code,
  and must be submitted to the admitting official not later than the
  90th day after the date the affidavit is notarized.
         (d)  The Department of State Health Services shall provide
  the required immunization to children in areas where no local
  provision exists to provide those services.
         (e)  A person may be provisionally admitted to an elementary
  or secondary school if the person has begun the required
  immunizations and if the person continues to receive the necessary
  immunizations as rapidly as is medically feasible. The Department
  of State Health Services shall adopt rules relating to the
  provisional admission of persons to an elementary or secondary
  school.
         (f)  A person who has not received the immunizations required
  by this section for reasons of conscience, including because of the
  person's religious beliefs, may be excluded from school in times of
  emergency or epidemic declared by the commissioner of public
  health.
         SECTION 2.  Sections 81.023, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The executive commissioner may recommend to the
  legislature immunizations to include on the list of immunizations
  requireddepartment shall develop immunization requirements for
  children under Education Code Section 38.001(a).
         (b)  The department shall cooperate with the Department of
  Family and Protective Services in formulating and implementing the
  immunization requirements for children admitted to child-care
  facilities.
         (c)  The department shall cooperate with the State Board of
  Education in formulating and implementing immunization
  requirements for students admitted to public or private primary or
  secondary schools.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2023.