Student Vaccinations In Laguna Beach Schools Still Low

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — On May 15, the Orange County Grand Jury issued a report on the implementation of vaccination bill Senate Bill 277 in Orange County. SB 277 went into effect in 2016, and no longer allows parents to submit a personal belief exemption to a currently-required vaccine.

The report indicates that the number of vaccinated students in Laguna Beach Unified School District has increased since the 2013-2014 school year. However, the number of un-vaccinated students in the district remains below the Center for Disease Control’s “herd immunity” threshold of 92% to 94%. The percentage of immunized students in LBUSD is currently 86.5%, as compared to 71.1% in 2013-2014.

“It's important to note that our staff have developed systems and internal controls to make our families aware of the SB 277 requirements and enforce them as required by law. We have a large number of grandfathered personal exemptions and we have no authority to require these students to vaccinate. As these students move through our system, the levels of personal exemptions will drop off and our rates will continue to improve,” said Dr. Jason Viloria, LBUSD superintendent of schools.

In 2017, students of the Laguna Beach Unified School District were sent home or quarantined, due to exposure to measles. Students at a local university were also kept away due to a mumps outbreak.

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Personal belief exemptions submitted before January 1, 2016 remain valid until a student reaches seventh grade. At that time, students with a valid personal belief exemption filed before 2016 has to meet all age-appropriate immunization requirements for admission. Since this law was passed just last year, the district continues to have 241 students enrolled on personal belief exemptions that were submitted before January 1, 2016.

Prior to the first day of school, conditional lists are made at each district school site. The lists include the name of the student, vaccinations not yet received and dates that missing doses are due.

Each month, the list is evaluated by staff and parents are notified by telephone and email of upcoming due dates. The district allows 10 days past the due date before exclusion is enforced, as recommended by the authors of the California Immunization Handbook. Staff review student enrollment reports quarterly to ensure that new students have not been missed in the enrollment process.

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