In California, a committee vote will decide on an amended bill that will mostly prevent unvaccinated children from being enrolled in private and public schools in an attempt to tackle the state's person belief exemption for vaccines.

As a committee vote nears, the bill has been amended to allow for unvaccinated California children to "complete their education in multifamily home-schools or in publicly sanctioned independent courses," according to an article from The Sacramento Bee. 

The bill, called Senate Bill 227, "would require all kindergartners to be immunized against diseases such as polio, whooping cough, mumps and measles unless they have a legitimate medical reason to opt out. It applies to public, private and charter schools, but parents who absolutely refuse to comply could home-school their kids, as many do now," according to the article.

The vaccine debate in California has gotten extremely passionate as vehement opponents of vaccinations argue for their children's education regardless. Opponents "argue that not all parents have the education to home-school, and they note that the law prohibits impingement on education rights without a compelling state interest," the article said.

Proponents of stricter vaccination laws in California feel that a "compelling state interest" is ensuring that children are immunized to prevent disease outbreaks like the recent measles outbreak in California's Disneyland.

"California has one of the most lax vaccine laws in the United States. Bringing it more in line with the rest of the country is a much-needed step, and the claim that it’s some sort of radical idea is a smokescreen. No one has an inalienable right to endanger public health," according to the Bee's editorial team.

Read the full article here and comment below.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

04/22/2015