Vaccine requirements posted for returning students
It’s that time again — summer will soon come to an end, and high school and elementary school students will return to classrooms for 2025-2026 school year.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health mandates that “vaccinations are required for children to attend school in Pennsylvania.” Vaccination requirements for returning students in Butler County’s public school districts are in accordance with state law.
Students of all grades require four doses of tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis; four doses of polio; two doses of measles, mumps and rubella; three doses of hepatitis B, two doses of varicella (chickenpox) or evidence of immunity.
Students in seventh to 12th grades need an additional diphtheria, acellular pertussis and two doses of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV), with the second dose required at age 16 or upon entering 12th grade.
Required vaccinations must be obtained by the fifth day of school or the student risks exclusion from school.
“The importance of these requirements are to assist the public with the prevention of these communicable diseases,” said Jennifer Aglio, the elementary school nurse at Karns City Area School District. “Luckily exclusion rarely, if ever, happens for our school district.”
Exemptions for moral or religious reasons can be made for students whose parents or guardians turn in a written request, or for medical reasons with a written statement from the relevant physician or nurse.
For Mars Area School District, information about the vaccine requirements can be found at www.marsk12.org.
For Freeport Area School District, information about the vaccine requirements can be found at www.freeport.k12.pa.us.
