Clarification of Requirement Pertaining to Religious Exemption Statement

In 2015, Public Act 15-174, An Act Concerning Childhood Vaccinations, was signed into law.  This bill, effective July 1, 2015, specified that when a parent or guardian objects to an immunization on religious grounds, such objection must be accompanied by a statement from the parents or guardian that the immunization would be contrary to the religious belief of the child or the parents or guardian.  This bill requires the statement to be appropriately acknowledged and updated annually.  Following the passage of this bill, but within the same legislative session, Public Act 15-242 passed.  This bill repealed the language of the previous bill that required such statement be updated annually.  Therefore, the statement required from the parent or guardian which verifies a religious exemption does not need to be updated annually in order for the child to continue to receive child care services.