Vaccination Requirements

Pennsylvania state law mandates that every child must be fully immunized to attend school.

A child must have the required medically appropriate vaccines or a plan to complete those vaccines or risk exclusion from school. A child may still obtain medical, religious, or philosophical exemption from meeting the immunization requirements. State law dictates that even if your child is exempt from immunizations, he or she may be excluded from school during an outbreak of vaccine-preventable disease.

Talk to your child's pediatrician about the vaccines your child needs to attend school.

Required immunizations for ALL GRADES include:

4 doses of tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis

• Usually given as DTP or DTaP or if medically advisable, OT or Td
• 1 dose on or after the 4th birthday

4 doses of polio

• 4th dose on or after 4th birthday and at least 6 months after previous dose given
• A fourth dose is not necessary if the third dose was administered at age 4 years or older and at least 6 months after the previous dose

2 doses of measles, mumps, rubella

• Usually given as MMR

3 doses of hepatitis B

2 doses of varicella (chickenpox) or evidence of immunity

Additional Immunizations Required for 7th Grade and Higher:

1 dose of tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap) by the first day of 7th grade

1 dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV) by the first day of 7th grade

Additional Immunizations Required for 12th Grade:

1 dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV) by the first day of 12th grade

If one dose was given at 16 years of age or older, that shall count as the twelfth-grade dose.

Pennsylvania's school immunization requirements can be found in 28 Pa.CODE CH.23 (School Immunization). Contact your healthcare provider or call 1-877-PA-HEALTH for more information.

These requirements allow for the following exemptions: medical reason, religious belief, or philosophical/strong moral or ethical conviction. Exemption documentation must be provided to your child's school nurse.

NOTE: Even if your child is exempt from immunizations, he or she may be excluded from school during an outbreak of vaccine preventable disease. For example, if there is a Measles outbreak in your school community, and your child is not vaccinated for Measles, they would be excluded from school during the outbreak.

Additional information is available on our Nursing Services Webpage: HERE

Please email vaccination records to the nurses office:

Nurse_NHS@neshaminy.org High School

Nurse_MPM@neshaminy.org Maple Point

Nurse_POQ@neshaminy.org Poquessing

Nurse_SMS@neshaminy.org Sandburg

Nurse_CCE@neshaminy.org Core Creek

Nurse_FER@neshaminy.org Ferderdar

Nurse_HOV@neshaminy.org Hoover

Nurse_MIL@neshaminy.org Miller

Nurse_SCH@neshaminy.org Schweitzer

Nurse_TAW@neshaminy.org Tawanka

Your child may be excluded from school following PA guidelines in beginning of the 2025-2026 school year.

The District hopes that the ongoing efforts of our School Health team, which outlined the vaccination requirements will limit the number of students excluded from school. However, if you have not presented EITHER proof of vaccination OR a written plan from a medical office to obtain vaccination OR written documentation outlining your exemption based on medical reasons, religious belief, or philosophical/strong moral or ethical conviction to the nurse's office to your School Nurse (Nurses Office) on or before September 19, 2025, your child will be excluded from school beginning Monday, September 29th and may not return until such documentation is provided.

If your child comes to school on September 29th , they will be called to the principal's office, and you will be asked to come and pick up your child. If you are unavailable to come and pick up your child, your child will remain in a separate location, supervised, through the end of the school day. Your child shall stay out of school until EITHER proof of vaccination OR a written plan from a medical office to obtain vaccination OR written documentation outlining your exemption based on medical reasons, religious belief, or philosophical/strong moral or ethical conviction is provided to the nurse's office.

Additional information, including an exemption form, is available HERE.

The District understands the inconvenience this may cause, yet the district is obligated to follow Pennsylvania's school immunization requirements can be found in 28 Pa.CODE CH.23 (School Immunization).

The Bucks County Department of Health (BCDH) provides immunizations for child and adult residents who are uninsured, underinsured, or covered by medical assistance.

Getting the right vaccines helps protect you, your family, and your community from getting sick.

Vaccines are available based on eligibility. Eligible Bucks County residents include children and adults who currently:

· Have no health insurance

· Have private health insurance that does not cover vaccines

· Have medical assistance

Residents with private health insurance, including children enrolled in CHIP (PA Children’s Health Insurance Program), should see their primary care providers for immunizations.

If you qualify, call the BCDH clinic to make an appointment:

Bucks County Government Services Center
7321 New Falls Road
Levittown, PA 19055
Rear of building-left entrance
Phone: 267-580-3533
Fax: 215-949-5819

Scheduling Your Appointment

· Appointments are required; please call the clinic in your area weekdays between 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. to determine eligibility and schedule an appointment.

· New patients will need to provide their current vaccine immunization records before making an appointment.

Preparing for Your Visit

· A parent, guardian, or responsible adult should accompany children under age 18.

· Plan to arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment for COVID-19 screening.

· Please call to reschedule 24 hours in advance if you are unable to keep your appointment to avoid paying a $20 administrative fee.

· Appointments will be rescheduled for:
< Late arrivals of 15 minutes or more
< Those with COVID-19 symptoms or associated risks

Additional Immunization Services in Bucks County

Residents with health insurance can get most recommended vaccines from their primary care doctors. Many recommended vaccines also are available at local pharmacies, urgent care centers, and travel clinics regardless of insurance status. When using other services, be sure to call ahead to ask about vaccine availability, age requirements, accepted insurance, and forms of payment.

For additional immunization locations, visit Vaccines.gov.

For the PA Health Insurance Exchange, visit Pennie.