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 The Spokane Public Schools, the state's second-largest district,
made the decision after a measles epidemic in which more than 150
people fell ill across the United States, and a whooping cough
outbreak in the state's eastern city.
"(The students) stay out of school until they show compliance,"
district spokesman Kevin Morrison said. He said the district was the
first in the state to take such action.
All U.S. states require certain vaccines for students for diseases
such as mumps, rubella, tetanus or polio, but school immunization
laws grant exemptions to children for medical reasons, including an
inhibited immune system.
Almost all states also grant religious exemptions against
immunizations, with 20 states also allowing philosophical
exemptions, according to the National Conference of State
Legislatures.
 Parents who want to opt out of school shots on philosophical,
religious or medical grounds in Washington state, which saw measles
cases in the recent epidemic, though none in Spokane public schools,
must file a state-mandated waiver with the district, Morrison said.
About 500 of the district's 30,000 students lack the waivers, down
from some 5,000 students flagged in November as having missing or
unclear immunization status, Morrison said.
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In February, officials started instructing parents that their
children needed vaccinations or waivers and held a series of health
clinics across the region, though the efforts have been complicated
by school transfers and old record-keeping.
"It's a lot of hand-holding, it's labor intensive," Morrison said.
(Editing by Paul Tait)
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