- Departments
Health Services
Information & Downloadable Foms
Information & Downloadable Foms
Parents' Guide To Immunizations Required For School Entry
Students Admitted at TK/K-12 Need:
- Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (DTaP, DTP, Tdap, or Td) — 5 doses
- 4 doses OK if one was given on or after 4th birthday.
- 3 doses OK if one was given on or after 7th birthday.
- For 7th-12th graders, at least 1 dose of pertussis-containing vaccine is required on or after 7th birthday.
- Polio (OPV or IPV) — 4 doses
- 3 doses OK if one was given on or after 4th birthday
- Hepatitis B — 3 doses
- Not required for 7th grade entry
- Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) — 2 doses
- Both given on or after 1st birthday
- Varicella (Chickenpox) — 2 doses
These immunization requirements apply to new admissions and transfers for all grades, including transitional kindergarten.
Students Starting 7th Grade Need:
- Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap) —1 dose
- Whooping cough booster usually given at 11 years and up
- Varicella (Chickenpox) — 2 doses
- Usually given at ages 12 months and 4-6 years
- In addition, the TK/K-12 immunization requirements apply to 7th graders who:
- previously had a valid personal beliefs exemption filed before 2016 upon entry between TK/Kindergarten and 6th grade
- are new admissions
Records:
California schools are required to check immunization records for all new student admissions at TK/Kindergarten through 12th grade and all students advancing to 7th grade before entry. Parents must show their child’s Immunization Record as proof of immunization.
For more information, please visit www.shotsforschools.org
Checklist - Parent and Guardian Responsibilities
- Talk to your child’s doctor about making a medicine schedule so that your child does not have to take medicine while at school.
- If your child is regularly taking medicine for an ongoing health problem, even if he or she only takes the medicine at home, give a written note to the school nurse or other designated school employee at the beginning of each school year. You must list the medicine being taken, the current amount taken, and the name of the doctor who prescribed it (Education [EC] Code Section 49480).
- If your child must take medicine while at school, complete the “Medication Administration at School” form (posted below), which includes a written notice from you and a written notice from your child’s doctor or other health care provider, who is licensed to practice in California. Provide new, updated notice at the beginning of each school year and whenever there are any changes in the medicine, instructions, or doctor (EC Section 49423).
- As parent or guardian, you must supply the school with all medicine your child must take during the school day. You or another adult must deliver the medicine to school, except medicine your child is authorized to carry and take by him or herself.
- All controlled medicine, like Ritalin, must be counted and recorded on a medicine log when delivered to the school. You or another adult who delivered the medicine should verify the count by signing the log.
- Each medicine your child must be given at school must be in a separate container labeled by a pharmacist licensed in the United States. The container must list your child’s name, doctor’s name, name of the medicine, and instructions for when to take the medicine and how much to take.
- Pick up all discontinued, outdated, and/or unused medicine before the end of the school year. Medications left over summer break will be discarded.
- Know and follow the medicine policy of your child’s school.