What Happened To The Immunization Exemption Bill?
Vaccine Exemption Bill 1050 Summary: The Health Department’s mandated immunization exemption form falls outside the scope of law. The law requires a simple statement from parents advising schools they are taking their legally acceptable religious or philosophical exemption to vaccine mandates. The health department form intends to ‘educate’ parents of the risk of childhood diseases and force parents to explain their religious reasons for taking an exemption, neither of these actions are required by statute. The Senate Health Committee agreed with HFI, but politics kept the bill from being heard and voted upon. Its time to bring it to a court of law and have a judge hold the state departments accountable for their actions. If you family faced discrimination when enrolling a child into school or daycare please contact HFI @ [email protected]
Idaho’s vaccine exemption form for school attendance. The Idaho Health Department would like parents to believe that Idaho has a no shots no school policy. However, Idaho statues allows vaccine exemptions for daycare and schools. A parent who chooses to avoid some or all of the 68 CDC recommended vaccines for their school aged child, is legally allowed to enroll the child in school (or daycare). Currently, parents are forced to sign IDHW’s mandatory form that demands parents state that their child is more likely to contract a “vaccine preventable disease with specific complication” and that it is negligent for willfully denying your son/daughter the life-saving protection that vaccines offer” in order to enroll their children into school.
A parent choosing to take the legal exemption because of religious reasons is required (by the Health Department’s form) to acknowledge ‘card carrying membership’ to a ‘qualified religious organization’ that opposes vaccines and the parent is then required to list their religious objections.
The Health Department has stepped significantly outside the law that clearly states a parent need only supply a written statement to the schools that they object vaccines on a religious or philosophical ground without need to clarify or excuse their parental choice.
Leslie Manookian and executive director Miste Karlfeldt spoke with Chairman Lee Heider several times over the summer about this very issue. He whole heartedly agreed that The Health Department has severely overstepped it bounds. He agreed to carry a bill for us to clarify within the statute that a form provided by the Dept of Health and Welfare did not need to be filled out in order to enroll our children in school.
Health Freedom Idaho went knocking on Legislator’s doors to discuss this situation and we had much support in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Sen. Fred Martin did his homework by calling the schools. They verified that they were in fact requiring this form and Sen Martin agreed that was outside of the statute.
Our bill, SB 1050, never had a hearing.
Dick Armstrong (Director of Health and Welfare) spent much time with the legislators explaining why he requires this form. He stated that he uses it to educate the public and feels that it is his duty to do so. Of course, we believe that is up to the parent to educate themselves while using all of the recourses available to them. The shenanigans that took place to keep this bill from being heard were appalling and included Governor Butch Otter telling Sen Lee Heider not to hear the bill. Sen Heider decided to drawer the bill that he had once promised to carry. The people were neither heard nor represented on this issue. Parents are faced with another year of trying to enroll their children in school without incriminating themselves on the form mandated by the Dept of Health and Welfare. Some have decided to homeschool but not everyone has that option. Many are having to sign this form under duress just to allow their child access to their promised education.
Health Freedom Idaho is determined to PRESS ON and since the legislature refuses to require departments of the State to comply with Idaho code we will ask the courts to do so! If you have submitted your written statement in compliance with the law to the school and been denied CONTACT Health Freedom Idaho at [email protected] Make sure to document your schools denial of your exemption including date, time, individuals contacted and their response (in writing). We will take this information to the courts and ask a judge to review the Health Department’s practice of requiring a mandatory form that falls outside the scope of statute.
