WA State Immunization Laws and Rules

Direct links to WA State RCWs and WACs related to schools and immunizations, including:

  • Immunization requirements for school attendance.
  • Student health record maintenance.
  • Criteria for excluding students from schools or child care centers.
  • Written notification requirements prior to school exclusions.
  • Control of communicable (contagious) diseases.
  • Responsibilities of schools to work with public health officials and maintain confidentiality.

RCW 28A.201.080

1. Attendance of every child at every WA State public and private school is conditioned upon the presentation before or on each child’s first day of attendance at a particular school or center, of proof of either:

  • Full immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases.
  • Initiation of and compliance with an immunization schedule that will bring a child that is not fully immunized into full immunization compliance.
  • A Certificate of Exemption (COE).

2. Beginning with sixth grade entry, every public and private school in the state shall provide parents and guardians with information about meningococcal disease and its vaccine as defined in RCW 28A.201.080 at the beginning of every school year.

3. Beginning with sixth grade entry, every public school in the state shall provide parents and guardians with information about human papillomavirus disease and its vaccine as defined in RCW 28A.201.080 at the beginning of every school year.

WAC 246-105-020

“Full immunization” or “fully immunized”: The status designation where a child has provided proof of acquired immunity or has been vaccinated with immunizing agents against each of the vaccine-preventable diseases listed in WAC 246-105-030 according to the national immunization guidelines described in WAC 246-105-040.

Conditional Status: A type of temporary immunization status where a child is not fully immunized against one or more of the vaccine-preventable diseases required by this chapter. A child in this status is allowed to attend a school or child care center only if the parent provides proof of immunization consistent with the schedule established in WAC 246-105-060 .  When the immunizations are part of a series with recommended intervals between doses, each additional missing immunization must be received no later than thirty calendar days past the recommended date of administration of the next dose as established by the national immunization guidelines.

Exempt Status: The designation given to a child that has not been immunized against one or more vaccine-preventable diseases required by WAC 246-105-020 due to medical, religious, philosophical, or personal reasons. A child in “exempt status” is allowed to attend school only by providing a required WA State DOH Certificate of Exemption (COE) form.

WAC 246-105-050

Required Documentation of Immunization Status

1. Before a child may attend a school or child care center, a parent must provide proof of immunization status. Documentation requirements are defined in WAC 246-105-050.

2. In cases in which a parent declines immunization due to medical, religious, personal or philosophical reasons, or when immunizations are deferred on a temporary basis for medical reasons, a WA State DOH-approved Certificate of Exemption (COE) form must be completed as defined in WAC 246-105-050.