CHAPTER 58
An Act requiring hepatitis B vaccinations for students in high school and at institutions of higher education and supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
C.18A:61D-8 Findings, declarations relative to hepatitis B vaccinations.
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. Hepatitis B is a serious viral disease that attacks the liver and can cause lifelong infection, cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer, liver failure and even death; after tobacco, hepatitis B is the world's leading known cause of cancer;
b. Hepatitis B virus is spread through blood and other body fluids and has been shown in some instances to remain infectious on environmental surfaces for at least a month at room temperature; in some settings, the virus can be up to 100 times more contagious than the virus that causes AIDS;
c. Individuals are at greater risk of hepatitis B virus infection who: have multiple sex partners; use injection drugs; have household contact with an individual who has lifelong hepatitis B infection; and travel to areas of the world where hepatitis B is common;
d. In 1999, an estimated 80,000 individuals in the United States were infected with the hepatitis B virus, and one out of 20 individuals in the United States will be infected with the virus at some time in their lives; approximately 30% of individuals who are infected show no signs or symptoms and can unknowingly pass the virus to others;
e. The highest rate of hepatitis B disease occurs in individuals 20 to 49 years of age; in 1998, 205 hepatitis B cases were reported in New Jersey, with 60% of those occurring in individuals 25 to 44 years of age;
f. Hepatitis B vaccine, which has been available since 1982, prevents hepatitis B disease and its serious consequences; the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends routine vaccination of individuals zero to 18 years of age for hepatitis B;
g. As of September 2001, the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services requires hepatitis B immunization prior to school entry for all children in the State, with a sixth grade catch-up dose for those not already immunized; and
h. Since the hepatitis B immunization requirement for school entry in the State was recently adopted and the highest rates of hepatitis B infection in the nation and State are occurring in individuals between 20 and 50 years of age, it is appropriate for the State to require every high school student,and each new student enrolling on a full-time basis in a program leading to an academic degree at an institution of higher education in the State,to be vaccinated for hepatitis B.
C.18A:61D-9 Hepatitis B vaccination required for certain students at institutions of higher education.
2. a. Beginning with the 2008-09 school year, a new student enrolling in a program leading to an academic degree at a public or private institution of higher education in this State, who registers for 12 or more credit hours of course study per semester or term, shall be vaccinated for hepatitis B within nine months of attendance as a condition of continued attendance at that institution, except as provided in section 4 of this act.
b. A student shall present evidence of the vaccination required pursuant to this section to the institution in a manner prescribed by the institution.
c. The Department of Health and Senior Services shall require each public or private institution of higher education in this State to offer the vaccination required pursuant to this section to its students through the institution's student health services program or through a contractual agreement with a community health care provider.
d. The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to carry out the purposes of subsections a., b. and c. of this section and sections 3 and 4 of this act.
C.18A:40-21.1 Hepatitis B vaccination required for public, private school students in grades nine through twelve.
3. The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services shall require the immunization of a child for hepatitis B as a condition of enrollment in grades nine through 12.
b. Beginning with the 2003-2004 school year, a principal, director or other person in charge of a public or private school in this State shall not knowingly admit or retain in grades nine through 12 a child whose parent or guardian has not submitted acceptable evidence of the child's immunization for hepatitis B prior to or during enrollment in ninth grade, as provided by regulation of the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services.
c. The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to carry out the purposes of this section.
C.18A:61D-10 Exemption from vaccination.
4. A student shall not be required to receive a vaccination pursuant to section 2 or 3 of this act based upon one of the following:
a. a written statement submitted to the secondary school or institution of higher education, as applicable, by a licensed physician indicating that the vaccine is medically contraindicated for a specific period of time and the reasons for the medical contraindication, based upon valid medical reasons as determined by regulation of the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, which shall exempt the student from the vaccination for the stated period of time; or
b. a written statement submitted to the secondary school or institution of higher education, as applicable, by the student, or the student's parent or guardian if the student is a minor, explaining how the administration of the vaccine conflicts with the bona fide religious tenets or practices of the student, or the parent or guardian, as appropriate; except that a general philosophical or moral objection to the vaccination shall not be sufficient for an exemption on religious grounds.
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
Approved August 3, 2002.