Three Vaccine Laws Go Into Effect Today, Thursday, August 1, 2024 🇺🇸
HFL provides tools to help educate your school boards and school administrators.
It’s a new school year with new vaccine laws! It is time to educate your school boards and school administrators about these new laws. In this article, we provide some tools to help you including the image below which can be shared on social media.
Why is it necessary to educate family and friends about these new laws?
Louisiana schools do not understand the existing law, as seen from the form below sent out this week by Ascension Parish Schools.
As we stated in our previous article, the state is a respecter of rights, especially parental rights. Louisiana Children’s Code acknowledges that parents have “the paramount right to raise their children in accordance with their own values and traditions; that parents should make the decisions regarding where and with whom the child shall reside, the educational, moral, ethical, and religious training of the child, the medical, psychiatric, surgical, and preventive health care of the child…” Compelling a medical intervention would directly conflict with the moral tenets outlined in the Louisiana Children’s Code regarding the importance of parents in a child’s life. Louisiana’s original vaccine law, R.S. 17:170, must be put in its proper posture — it is asking for medical information, not compelling parents to vaccinate their children. The state has no authority to do that, much less our school systems.
There is so much wrong with the above form distributed by the Ascension Parish School System, not the least of which is the preempting of a parent’s right to determine what is medically best for their child.
What else is wrong with the information on the form? Let’s break it down...
R.S. 17:170 does not state a child has to be immunized to attend school. The law asks parents to submit immunization records, but the law also says they can opt-out with a “written dissent.” That means parents and college students can submit a form like the sample we have on our website and simply decline to provide the requested information. Nothing is “REQUIRED.”
No statute allows schools to make blanket medical recommendations to parents or students. With this form, Ascension Parish is telling parents what vaccine to get and where to get it or the student will not be allowed to attend school. In a nutshell, Ascension Parish is practicing medicine without a license and doing it coercively by stating the student cannot attend school without undergoing medical treatment.
The sentence that briefly mentions “exempt” students does not comply with Act 675, which goes into effect today, requiring schools to provide this legal citation from R.S. 17:170(E) in all communications about immunizations:
E. No person seeking to enter any school or facility enumerated in Subsection A of this Section shall be required to comply with the provisions of this Section if the student or his parent or guardian submits either a written statement from a physician stating that the procedure is contraindicated for medical reasons, or a written dissent from the student or his parent or guardian is presented.
It will take a concerted effort to stem the tide of misinformation coming from schools, other government agencies, including the Louisiana Department of Health, and the media about immunization information. The news report below from KALB in Alexandria is a prime example of inaccurate information provided to parents. The reporter states an exemption has to be signed by a physician, but only a medical exemption requires a physician’s note. Parents do not have to consult with a physician to opt out of the state’s requirement with a written dissent.
Now, with school starting shortly, there are three new laws to add to the mix.
This is where we need your help to educate your school, family, and friends! As of August 1, 2024, all Lousiana schools — including elementary and secondary schools, kindergartens, colleges, universities, proprietary schools, vocational schools, and licensed day care centers, both public and private — are required to cite the exemption section of R.S. 17:170(E) with any written communication about immunizations to parents and students, according to Act 675. Exemption information can no longer be glossed over as the Ascension Parish form does. It is important to note that all schools are required to accept the exemption, as well. This is not new, but we want to bring it to your attention. It is not optional for schools to accept exemptions. They are required to accept them by law. Many Catholic schools believe they are excluded from this requirement, but they are not and risk losing emergency funding if they do not follow the law.
Additionally, Act 460 prohibits discrimination based on a student’s vaccination status. We believe Louisiana is the first state to pass such amazing legislation!
Finally, Act 674 provides that no school in Louisiana can request information about covid vaccination. When the bill passed earlier this year, there were still universities across the state requesting this information as well as 86 K-12 schools in the city of New Orleans.
Parents, we have created a short flyer for you to take to your school board and school administrators. College students will likely need to educate their college’s admissions department, as well. These new laws apply to ALL Louisiana schools. Download the flyer HERE and find more information about exemptions from our website, HealthFreedomLA.org.
Again, we cannot thank you enough for your support as we advocate on your behalf for health freedom! 🇺🇸
Our advocacy is only possible with your help! THANK YOU!!
If you find value in our work, please consider donating to us to help fund our efforts. We are 100% volunteers and do not get paid, but we give our time to research, inform, and empower others because we know it’s critical to maintaining our liberties. Parents must know their rights so they can protect their freedom.
For media inquiries, please email info@healthfreedomla.org
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