Excerpt of Religious Vaccine Exemption from Public Act 099-0249
(8) Children of parents or legal guardians who object to
health, dental, or eye examinations or any part thereof, to
immunizations, or to vision and hearing screening tests on
religious grounds shall not be required to undergo the
examinations, tests, or immunizations to which they so object
if such parents or legal guardians present to the appropriate
local school authority a signed Certificate of Religious
Exemption detailing the grounds for objection and the specific
immunizations, tests, or examinations to which they object. The
grounds for objection must set forth the specific religious
belief that conflicts with the examination, test,
immunization, or other medical intervention. The signed
certificate shall also reflect the parent’s or legal guardian’s
understanding of the school’s exclusion policies in the case of
a vaccine-preventable disease outbreak or exposure. The
certificate must also be signed by the authorized examining
health care provider responsible for the performance of the
child’s health examination confirming that the provider
provided education to the parent or legal guardian on the
benefits of immunization and the health risks to the student
and to the community of the communicable diseases for which
immunization is required in this State. However, the health
care provider’s signature on the certificate reflects only that
education was provided and does not allow a health care
provider grounds to determine a religious exemption. Those
receiving immunizations required under this Code shall be
provided with the relevant vaccine information statements that
are required to be disseminated by the federal National
Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, which may contain
information on circumstances when a vaccine should not be
administered, prior to administering a vaccine. A healthcare
provider may consider including without limitation the
nationally accepted recommendations from federal agencies such
as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the
information outlined in the relevant vaccine information
statement, and vaccine package inserts, along with the
healthcare provider’s clinical judgment, to determine whether
any child may be more susceptible to experiencing an adverse
vaccine reaction than the general population, and if so, the
healthcare provider may exempt the child from an immunization
or adopt an individualized immunization schedule. The
Certificate of Religious Exemption shall be created by the
Department of Public Health and shall be made available and
used by parents and legal guardians by the beginning of the
2015-2016 school year. Parents or legal guardians must submit
the Certificate of Religious Exemption to their local school
authority prior to entering kindergarten, sixth grade, and
ninth grade for each child for which they are requesting an
exemption. The religious objection stated need not be directed
by the tenets of an established religious organization.
However, general philosophical or moral reluctance to allow
physical examinations, eye examinations, immunizations, vision
and hearing screenings, or dental examinations does not provide
a sufficient basis for an exception to statutory requirements.
The local school authority is responsible for determining if
the content of the Certificate of Religious Exemption
constitutes a valid religious objection. The local school
authority shall inform the parent or legal guardian of
exclusion procedures, in accordance with the Department’s
rules under Part 690 of Title 77 of the Illinois Administrative
Code, at the time the objection is presented.