In the wake of an unprecedented rise in the number of vaccine-preventable diseases including measles in California in 2019, City Attorney Mike Feuer was joined by officials from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to announce they have put non-conforming schools with kindergartens on notice that they must report the number of students vaccinated, or face possible legal consequences.
“It’s never been more important for schools to report whether their students have been vaccinated,” said Feuer. “Proper and timely reporting isn’t optional, it’s mandatory—and for good reason, if we are to protect the health and safety of young children and their families.”
Each fall, every kindergarten in the State of California is required to file an Annual Immunization Assessment report to the California Department of Public Health. These reports are vital in the County’s effort to conduct timely communicable disease surveillance, including measles, and to conduct timely intervention activities.
The City Attorney’s Office and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health sent letters to 17 schools that had either not submitted a report in the past two school years or had not submitted a report for 2018-2019 and have a history of not submitting a report for two or more consecutive school years since 2015. The letters remind the school administrators of their responsibilities under state law and seek greater compliance.
Private schools in the City of Los Angeles that continue to violate reporting requirements could potentially face civil lawsuits by the City Attorney’s Office.
