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49
53G-9-301
53G-9-304
6
Educational Vaccine Exemption Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Trevor Lee
Senate Sponsor:
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends provisions regarding a vaccination exemption form for required
immunizations in the public education system.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
repeals a requirement to complete an online education module to access a vaccination
exemption form;
requires the Department of Health and Human Services to:
provide an online vaccination exemption form; and
ensure the transmission of a completed online vaccination exemption form to the
relevant school or LEA; and
makes technical changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53G-9-301
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2024, Chapter 464
53G-9-304
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 328
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
53G-9-301
is amended to read:
53G-9-301
. Definitions.
As used in this part:
(1)
"Department" means the Department of Health and Human Services created in Section
26B-1-201
.
(2)
"Health official" means an individual designated by a local health department from
within the local health department to consult and counsel parents and licensed health
care providers, in accordance with Subsection
53G-9-304(2)(a)
.
(3)
"Health official designee" means a licensed health care provider designated by a local
health department, in accordance with Subsection
53G-9-304(2)(b)
, to consult with
parents, licensed health care professionals, and school officials.
(4)
"Immunization" or "immunize" means a process through which an individual develops
an immunity to a disease, through vaccination or natural exposure to the disease.
(5)
"Immunization record" means a record relating to a student that includes:
(a)
information regarding each required vaccination that the student has received,
including the date each vaccine was administered, verified by:
(i)
a licensed health care provider;
(ii)
an authorized representative of a local health department;
(iii)
an authorized representative of the department;
(iv)
a registered nurse; or
(v)
a pharmacist;
(b)
information regarding each disease against which the student has been immunized by
previously contracting the disease; and
(c)
an exemption form identifying each required vaccination from which the student is
exempt, including all required supporting documentation described in Section
53G-9-303
.
(6)
"Legally responsible individual" means:
(a)
a student's parent;
(b)
the student's legal guardian;
(c)
an adult brother or sister of a student who has no legal guardian; or
(d)
the student, if the student:
(i)
is an adult; or
(ii)
is a minor who may consent to treatment under Section
26B-4-321
.
(7)
"Licensed health care provider" means a health care provider who is licensed under
Title 58, Occupations and Professions, as:
(a)
a medical doctor;
(b)
an osteopathic doctor;
(c)
a physician assistant; or
(d)
an advanced practice registered nurse.
(8)
"Local health department" means the same as that term is defined in Section
26A-1-102
.
(9)
"Required vaccines" means vaccines required by department rule described in Section
53G-9-305
.
(10)
(a)
"School" means any public or private:
(i)
elementary or secondary school through grade 12;
(ii)
preschool;
(iii)
child care program, as that term is defined in Section
26B-2-401
;
(iv)
nursery school; or
(v)
kindergarten.
(b)
"School" does not include a:
(i)
home school;
(ii)
home-based microschool; or
(iii)
micro-education entity.
(11)
"Student" means an individual who attends a school.
(12)
"Vaccinating" or "vaccination" means the administration of a vaccine.
(13)
"Vaccination exemption form" means
a
an online
form, described in Section
53G-9-304
, that documents and verifies that a student is exempt from the requirement to
receive one or more required vaccines.
(14)
"Vaccine" means the substance licensed for use by the United States Food and Drug
Administration that is injected into or otherwise administered to an individual to
immunize the individual against a communicable disease.
Section 2. Section
53G-9-304
is amended to read:
53G-9-304
. Vaccination exemption form.
(1)
The department shall:
(a)
develop
a
an online
vaccination exemption form that includes only the following
information:
(i)
identifying information regarding:
(A)
the student to whom an exemption applies; and
(B)
the legally responsible individual who claims the exemption for the student
and signs the vaccination exemption form;
(ii)
an indication regarding the vaccines to which the exemption relates;
(iii)
a statement that the claimed exemption is for:
(A)
a medical reason; or
(B)
a personal or religious belief; and
(iv)
an explanation of the requirements, in the event of an outbreak of a disease for
which a required vaccine exists, for a student who:
(A)
has not received the required vaccine; and
(B)
is not otherwise immune from the disease;
and
(b)
provide the vaccination exemption form created in this Subsection
(1)
to local
health departments.
in an online format
; and
(c)
ensure the transmission of a completed online vaccination exemption form to the
relevant school or LEA.
(2)
(a)
Each local health department shall designate one or more individuals from within
the local health department as a health official to consult, regarding the requirements
of this part, with:
(i)
parents, upon the request of parents;
(ii)
school principals and administrators; and
(iii)
licensed health care providers.
(b)
A local health department may designate a licensed health care provider as a health
official designee to provide the services described in Subsection
(2)(a)
.
(3)
(a)
To receive a vaccination exemption form described in Subsection
(1)
, a legally
responsible individual shall complete the online education module described in
Section
26B-7-118
, permitting an individual to:
(i)
complete any requirements online; and
(ii)
download and print the vaccine exemption form immediately upon completion of
the requirements.
(b)
A legally responsible individual may decline to take the online education module
and obtain a vaccination exemption form from a local health department if the
individual:
(i)
requests and receives an in-person consultation at a local health department from
a health official or a health official designee regarding the requirements of this
part; and
(ii)
pays any fees established under Subsection
(4)(b)
.
(4)
(3)
(a)
Neither the department nor any other person may charge a fee for the
exemption form
offered through the online education module in Subsection
(3)(a)
.
(b)
A local health department may establish a fee of up to $25 to cover the costs of
providing an in-person consultation.
Section 3.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
July 1, 2026
.
1-30-26 11:24 AM