Public Health Law, and the 2019 repeal
Immunisation, and the fourteen-day rule
New York abolished the non-medical exemption in 2019. No nursery in this state can offer you a way around this, and one that implies it can is telling you something untrue.
New York has no religious or philosophical vaccine exemption. Every child in day care in New York State must be immune to diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, polio, hepatitis B, varicella, Hib and pneumococcal disease. New York abolished the non-medical exemption in 2019, so there is no religious or philosophical route around this and no nursery may offer you one. A child who is behind must receive at least the first dose of every required vaccine within fourteen days of starting. A genuine medical exemption signed by a physician is the only exception and it is uncommon.
This is the least negotiable page on this site, and the one where being clear costs us the least and helps you the most. Every child attending day care, Head Start, nursery school or pre-kindergarten in New York State must be immune to a defined list of diseases. It is state law rather than a policy this nursery adopted.
The list is diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, polio, hepatitis B, varicella, Haemophilus influenzae type b and pneumococcal disease. Eleven, across the standard childhood schedule.
The 2019 repeal, and what it changed
New York removed the non-medical exemption to school and day care immunisation requirements in 2019. There is no religious exemption and there is no philosophical or personal-belief exemption. Those routes existed before and they do not exist now.
The only remaining exemption is a genuine medical one, certified by a physician, where immunisation would be detrimental to the child's health. It is uncommon, it is specific, and it is documented rather than asserted.
We spell this out because families sometimes arrive having been told, in good faith, by somebody in another state or by an out-of-date web page, that a form exists. It does not, and finding that out at enrolment is much better than finding it out on a first morning.
The fourteen-day rule
A child who is unvaccinated or behind schedule must receive at least the first dose of every required vaccine within fourteen days of starting, and must then remain on the catch-up schedule.
This matters in practice more than the headline rule does, because it is what a family behind on the schedule actually has to act on. It is not a fourteen-day grace period during which nothing happens — it is a deadline with a clock that starts on the first day.
If your child is behind, tell us at the enrolment visit rather than hoping the record is not read closely. It is read closely, and a plan agreed in advance is a straightforward thing while the same conversation on day twelve is not.
Why a nursery cannot make an exception for you
Because the requirement is not ours to waive. A centre that admits a child without the required record is in breach of a state requirement and its permit is the thing at risk, which means the question is not whether we are sympathetic.
And because of the other children. Some of them are under twelve months and not yet fully immunised themselves; some have genuine medical exemptions and are relying on everybody around them. A nursery that made an exception for one family would be making a decision on behalf of every other family in the building without telling them.
If a centre suggests to you that this is flexible, that is worth more attention than it usually gets. The flexibility is not available, so either they are mistaken about the law or they are describing something they should not be doing.
What we need, and when
A complete immunisation record and a health form signed by your child's physician, before the first day. This applies to a full-time place, to a fixed part-time place and to a single two-hour drop-in session equally — the file belongs to the child rather than to the length of the booking.
The physician's signature is what takes the time. Two or three days is typical and a fortnight is not unusual at some practices, which is why we raise it at the first conversation rather than after you have paid a registration fee.
If cost or access to a physician is the obstacle, tell us. There are free and low-cost routes to childhood immunisation in this city and Sunita knows where they are. That is a solvable problem and it is a very different conversation from a request for an exemption.
In order
How this works in practice
Ask your physician for the full record
Not a summary and not a card with some of it. The complete immunisation history, on the practice's own paperwork.
Book the health form early
It needs a physician's signature and that is the slow step. Start it before you need a start date, not after.
Say so now if your child is behind
A catch-up plan agreed at enrolment is routine. The same conversation two weeks in is not, and the fourteen-day clock will already be running.
Ask about help if cost is the barrier
There are free and low-cost immunisation routes in this city. This is a practical problem with practical answers.
Expect the same for a two-hour session
Hourly and drop-in children need the identical file. It is the most common reason we cannot take a same-day booking.
Questions we are actually asked
Immunisation, and the fourteen-day rule — frequently asked
Can I get a religious exemption for daycare in New York?
No. New York repealed the non-medical exemption to school and day care immunisation requirements in 2019, and that includes religious exemptions. The only remaining route is a documented medical exemption certified by a physician, and it is uncommon.
Which immunisations are required?
Immunity to diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, polio, hepatitis B, varicella, Haemophilus influenzae type b and pneumococcal disease. The specific doses depend on your child's age and the standard schedule.
What if my child is behind schedule?
They must receive at least the first dose of every required vaccine within fourteen days of starting and then stay on the catch-up schedule. Tell us at enrolment so the plan is agreed rather than discovered.
Does this apply to a single drop-in session?
Yes. The requirement attaches to the child attending day care, not to how long they attend for. This is the most common reason a same-day hourly booking is not possible for a new family.
What if we cannot afford the physician visit?
Say so. There are free and low-cost childhood immunisation routes in New York City and we will point you at them. It is a practical obstacle with a practical answer, and it is entirely different from asking to skip the requirement.
Tuesday and Thursday mornings, while the children are here
Come and see the room
A tour here happens during a session, in the room your child would actually be in, at the time of day they would be in it. You meet the person who leads that room rather than only the director, and you see the noise and the mess that are genuinely there. It takes an hour. If your child is three or four we will ask whether you have applied for free 3-K or Pre-K for All before we quote you a rate, because a good many families should not be paying us at all.