PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY
Subject of Possible Rule Making: WAC 246-100-166 Immunization of child care and school children against certain vaccine-preventable diseases.
Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: RCW 28A.210.140.
Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: The current rule does not allow conditional status for children who may not receive required immunizations in the event of a vaccine shortage. The rule needs to be changed to grant the state health officer the power to declare a shortage in vaccine so that schools and licensed day care facilities can allow children who are not fully immunized to attend school in early September or any other applicable time. The state health officer also needs to have the power to declare that the vaccine shortage is over so that schools and licensed day care facilities can then enforce the immunization requirements in a reasonable amount of time.
Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: RCW 28A.210.150 requires the superintendent of public instruction to "provide procedures for schools to quickly verify the immunization of records of students transferring from one school to another before immunization records are received." The State Board of Education, under chapter 180-38 WAC, sets procedural and substantive due process requirements governing the exclusion of students from public and private schools for failure to comply with immunization requirements. Department of Social and Health Services sets immunization requirements for children in licensed day care settings under WAC 388-150-220 Health supervision and infectious disease prevention. The board and department will work with these agencies to assure they are informed of any change in immunization requirements.
Process for Developing New Rule: Collaborative rule making. The Board of Health and Department of Health will work together and consult with interested parties to develop the proposed rule. In addition to working with the agencies identified in the previous section, the department and board will contact local health jurisdictions, schools, vaccine providers, the child care action council, child care resource and referral groups and other interested parties. The board and department will invite all interested persons to comment on the proposed rules.
Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Doreen Garcia, Senior Policy Advisor, Washington State Board of Health, P.O. Box 47990, Olympia, WA 98504-7990, phone (360) 236-4101, fax (360) 236-4088, e-mail doreen.garcia@doh.wa.gov, or Richelle Peterson, Clinical and Assessment Services Manager, Department of Health, P.O. Box 47843, Olympia, WA 98504-7843, phone (360) 236-3720, fax (360) 236-3590, e-mail richelle.peterson@doh.wa.gov.
April 26, 2002
Don Sloma
Executive Director