Click here to contact your own Illinois Senator and House Representative and tell them to vote no on HB2560 and all bills limiting vaccine exemptions. We want our personal religious exemption left alone.
Springfield Office:
(217) 782-8052
District Office:
(847) 424-9898
House Representative Robyn Gabel (D) 18th district introduced a shell bill, House Bill 2560 on 2/18/15 that states it makes a technical change to the short title (The Mercury Free Vaccine Act). On 3/10/15, Rep. Gabel filed an amendment to HB 2560. This amendment could be called “Make parents run around in circles only to be shot down by their local school nurse.” Seriously, HB2560 calls for the Illinois Department of Public Health to create an exemption form to be completed by parents and signed by the health care provider annually and the left to the discretion of the school authority to decide if the religious exemption qualifies.
HB2560 Synopsis As Introduced
Amends the Mercury-Free Vaccine Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.
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. 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 annually 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.