Texas School Nurses Asked to Break State’s Vaccination Law

• Nurses from Grand Prairie, TX, are filing complaints against the Independent School district after allegations of breaking Texas vaccination requirement law.
• These allegations arose from two emails sent in September to Grand Prairie school principals, not allowing them to unenroll students who did not submit proof of vaccination. 
• In order to protect themselves, the nurses have filed safe harbor forms with the Texas Board of Nursing which protects them from instructions that violate a nurse’s duty to their patient and accrediting board. 

Nurses from Grand Prairie, TX, are planning to file complaints against the Grand Prairie ISD for allegedly asking them to break state law regarding student vaccine requirements.

These complaints allege that the school district allowed students without proper vaccination records or documented exceptions to enroll in school to increase the district’s budget.

Once filed, complaints are then handled by the Texas Education Agency, which enforces the immunization standards set out in the state’s law.

This article will provide an overview of Texas’ current vaccination requirements, how students can legally acquire an exception, and the allegations against Grand Prairie ISD.

Texas Vaccination Law

Texas requires several vaccinations for kindergarten through high school students, such as Tetanus, Polio, Measles, Hepatitis A & B, Varicella, and Meningococcal vaccinations. A full chart of the minimum vaccine requirements can be found on the Texas Department of State Health Services site.

There are several exceptions to these vaccine requirements, such as “medical contraindications, reasons of conscience, including a religious belief, and active duty with the armed forces of the United States.”

Evidence of an up-to-date vaccination record or evidence for exclusion must be submitted before a student may be enrolled in school.

Grand Prairie ISD

In early September, two emails were sent from Grand Prairie Independent School District members informing principals that they were not authorized to unenroll students based on vaccinations. This is directly against state law in Texas and has greatly disturbed nurses within the district. 

The following email was sent from Traci Davis, the Associate Superintendent of Academics, Innovation, and School Leadership for Grand Prairie ISD.

Leaders,

Dr. Jackson is working with a health care consultant to develop procedures for students that are not current on immunizations. At this time, we are not unenrolling or excluding students due to immunizations. Please ensure that your staff is aware of this expectation. More information will be coming regarding the new procedure.

Please respond to this email and confirm that you have received this information and have communicated this expectation with your enrollment staff.

A similar email was also sent to the Texas Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS). This email was sent by Bill Young, the Director of Student Information Services at Grand Prairie ISD.

Dear PEIMS,

At this time do not withdraw any student for being out of compliance with vaccines.

The only person who can provide this directive is Dr. Diana Jackson. Unless you hear from her directly, you are not authorized to withdraw student on the reason for being out of compliance with vaccines.

Thank you.

Some nurses are afraid that this disregard for student safety and state law is an attempt to increase the school district’s budget. Texas currently guarantees $5,140 per student in each district.

Nurses allege that almost 2,000 unvaccinated students were still attending classes, which could inflate the district’s budget by over $10.2 million. One nurse even claims that the district said, “You know, when we have an empty seat, that’s money we’re missing out on.”

Nurses Response

Nurses working in Grand Prairie schools understood these requests jeopardized their licenses with the Texas Board of Nursing. Losing their license would not only cost these nurses their jobs but also prevent them from working for at least a year before being able to apply for reinstatement.

To protect themselves against retaliation from the district over their complaints, school nurses have filed a safe harbor with the Texas Board of Nursing. Safe Harbors are meant to be filed in cases where nurses are instructed to act in a way that violates a nurse’s duty to their patient and/or violates established rules from the Texas Nursing Practice ACT (NPA) and Board of Nursing.

Rather than unenrolling students until they could attend safely, nurses were asked to have a weekly check-in with each unvaccinated student and provide updates to higher-ups. One nurse reported that if they had “followed the law they would have had compliance within two weeks” rather than waiting months.

The Bottom Line

At least one school nurse has already quit due to the current situation, and many more claim they are considering not returning next year. The frustration of these nurses is very understandable and may lead Grand Prairie IDS to a school nurse shortage, as seen in D.C. and Baltimore.

Nurses should never be put in a position of choosing between breaking the law or losing their license. Their job is to serve and protect these students, as well as the health of their community, which these allegations directly endanger.

Hopefully, an investigation with the Texas Education Agency will unveil the entire truth and give these nurses the peace of mind to continue working. 

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